Which Me Do You Like?
by Scruffy-Nerf-Hearder
Summary: Minnie Strong is Tony Stark's assistant. Bruce Banner is his friend. The more time she spends with him, the harder it is to stop thinking about him, his smile, his little quips, and most of all, his eyes. The more time Bruce spends with Minnie, the harder it is to keep her from finding out about "The Other Guy". Bruce Banner/OC rated M for later chapters. COMPLETE & Sequel Posted!
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys, this is the prologue to my new story, _Which Me Do You Like_. I hope you like it, I'll be continuing with my Jaws story, but I just had to get this one out there while it was still in my head.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers. I own Minnie only.

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What are you supposed to do while your boss is saving the world? Now, it's not a question most have to face, however, when it comes to being Tony Stark's secretary it one I have to face a lot. Usually Pepper Potts has some sort of work for me, but seeing as she went to Washington DC to do some work there as Tony Stark's partner, and left me here, in New York, I honestly didn't know what to do. That is, until I walked into the new building with a late lunch (Or early dinner, either way...), ready to enjoy it at my desk, when Jarvis spoke up.

"Excuse me Ms. Strong, there's a security breach on the top floor."

"What the hell?" I muttered as I stood up. I went to the elevator and pushed the button. "Jarvis, locate Tony."

"Tony Stark is en route to Stark Towers." the AI's calming voice told me.

"Thank you JARVIS." I said and the elevator door opened. I stepped inside and pushed the button for Tony's office. The top floor.

I had started working for Stark Industries close to five years ago. It had started out as a simple internship, something to last the summer while I was in school, but it had quickly become more than just a job, and my decision to stay on at Stark Industries after school had been a very easy decision. Tony had become a friend; he reminded me of my brother in the sense that he was sarcastic and always had an answer for everything. He always liked to tease me and call me Mini Pepper (Or Minnie) because she and I had the same red hair and the same tendencies to try to get him to do some actual work. Or, as he puts it, we like to crash the party.

The elevator stopped at the top floor and I stepped into the office. Everything looked semi normal inside, until I looked out on the balcony. A wild haired man seemed to be in the process of putting something together. I frowned, and took a step forward when someone cleared their throat next to me. I gasped, spinning around, there standing next to me was a pale faced man with black hair, he was dressed in green armor with two large curling horns on his helmet, making me almost smirk when I thought of the comments Tony could come up with for that. But, in all honesty I was too scared to smirk.

"Jarvis-" I squeaked.

"Now now, no fun in ruining the surprise." he held up his finger, as if to silence me. I nodded, falling quiet. "Tell me Child, who are you?" My eyes fell against the CD case Tony had, there was no way I was telling this guy my real name. I made it a point not to tell creepy guys my real name, and if this guy didn't fit the definition of creepy, I was writing Webster.

"Jude," I said quickly, my eyes landing on a Beatles CD.

"Jude...?"

"McCartney." I said lamely, and I hoped that this guy had been living under a rock or something. The lie was so obvious, but he didn't seem to register it. "I'm an intern."

"And what does an Intern do?" he asked, a small, knowing smirk playing on his lips.

"I get coffee; make copies, that kind of stuff."

"Ah, and why would an empty building need an intern?"

"It won't be empty for much longer." I said and he looked at me curiously. "Ms. Potts just left, she should be here in a few hours. And once Mr. Stark realizes what's going on, there's nothing in the world that won't stop him from-" We both looked up as Tony landed on his custom build landing pad.

"Ah, right on time." the dark haired creeper said as Tony started to walk forward, the computers removing his Iron Man armor. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." he said to Tony as he walked into the office.

"Uh... Actually, I'm planning to threaten you." His eyes scanned me, as if to make sure I was unharmed.

"You should have left your armor on for that." my captor said as I stepped closer to Tony.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage, you've got the blue stick of destiny... Would you like a drink?" Tony asked as he stepped behind the bar.

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one." I lifted my hand and he nodded.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" he asked as I slipped into a seat at the bar. He opened a bottle of scotch.

"The Avengers." he said casually pouring two drinks. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

"Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-God; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." I noticed the dark haired man turn around in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar. "Get down to the arc reactor, and shut the door." he whispered to me. "Jarvis will seal you in until this is over."

"But what if-"

"As soon as he's distracted." he said, then looked up as the strange man spoke.

"That was the plan." he said looking to Tony.

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." Tony stepped around the bar, towards the black haired man. He planted himself between me and the man and stared at him, not breaking eye contact.

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk." Tony said simply.

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" he raised his scepter he was holding and pressed the point to his chest, right where I knew Tony's mini Arc Reactor was. Nothing happened and Tony looked down at himself, then back to the man. "It should work..."

"Oh, well, performance issues." Tony nodded, sounding sympathetic. "Nothing to be ashamed of, pretty common really, one in five I think-" Tony was cut off by the man grabbing him by the throat, and throwing him out the window. I stared in shock for a moment, before I kicked my pumps off and ran. Tony had to have had some sort of plan, there was no way, no way he would allow himself to be taken that easily.

The door to the stars was right to my right, so I took off down the stairs. I didn't stop to think, I didn't even notice my stocking snag on something, tearing it from my toe to my knee, all I thought about was getting out of there. I stumbled at one star, and fell, sliding down the seven remaining cement stairs, each one hitting my back as I tried to stop myself. I groaned hitting the wall, and gasped, trying to catch my breath, there was no time to worry about that, I'd worry about it if I got out- When! When I got out of there!

When I finally got to where I knew the ground floor was I cautiously opened the door. Screams and chaos, followed by inhuman shrieking, and a deep, booming roar sounded outside, so I shut the door.

"Jah- Jarvis?" I asked.

"Ms. Strong, Mr. Stark has requested you get to safety as soon as possible, though keep in mind, I'm paraphrasing." Jarvis said. I was leaning against the wall, panting.

"Oh god. My side." I gasped. I heard glass shattering on the other side of the door and I swallowed before I took off down the stairs. I got to the basement level, and punched in my security access code. A moment later it opened, and I ran down the hall, to the last room in the hall, punched in another code, waited for the door to unlock, and ran into the room, the door shut and sealed behind me.

"Door Sealed." Jarvis said and I nodded as I slumped down against the cool metal door.

"Next time," I panted. "I'm going with Pepper."


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, okay, thanks for the great reception so far guys, I'm glad you like it, and I'd like to say thank you especially to Radwoman (Love the SN), and Me and Gaara 4ever, for being the first two people to comment! This chapter is for you guys, and I hope you like it!

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I don't think I realized I had fallen asleep until I woke up in the basement of Stark Tower. I let out a small groan as I looked around; everything was illuminated blue, due to the fact that the only light was coming from the arc reactor. "Jarvis," I said softly. "Locate Tony Stark." My face hurt, as did the rest of my body. My shoulders were stiff from sleeping oddly on the floor, my back, ankle and tailbone hurt from where I fell down the stairs, as did my elbows, and my head was killing me.

"Tony Stark is currently explaining himself to Ms. Potts." he said.

"What's the current time?"

"Eight seventeen Ms. Strong."

"Jarvis, unseal the door."

"I'm afraid only Mr. Stark has the authority to unseal the door."

"Well, can you please ask him to get his ass down here before I throw something at the arc reactor?" I asked.

"With pleasure Ms. Strong." Jarvis sounded amused.

The Avengers were exhausted. Exhausted, but triumphant. Loki had been taken into SHIELD's custody, and they were currently sitting around Tony Stark's penthouse. Tony and Pepper were in the other room, talking, Clint and Natasha were in the bathroom, cleaning up their cuts and scrapes while Captain America and Thor stood on the semi demolished balcony.

Bruce Banner remained sitting on the couch, his eyes closed, he was breathing deeply, but not sleeping. He opened his dark eyes when Tony came quickly walking out of the room he and Pepper had been in, she was following him looking annoyed, and slightly amused.

"I can't believe you sealed her in there."

"She was safer down there."

"How do you know they wouldn't blow up the entire building?"

"Then she'd be a lot thinner." he replied.

"That is not funny!" she said.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked as she and Clint stepped from the bathroom, cleaned up, but still tired looking.

"Tony locked Minnie in the basement hours ago!"

"Minnie?" Bruce asked.

"That little intern that was always eating skittles?" Natasha asked.

"Yup." Tony said as he impatiently hit the elevator button. The elevator doors finally opened and Tony looked to Bruce. "You wanna come? There's no knowing what she'll do, I might need some help."

"Nothing you don't deserve." Pepper said from behind him.

"I'm sorry, is everyone forgetting the part where I saved her life?" he asked as he stepped into the elevator.

"So how pissed is she going to be?" Bruce asked as he stood up and followed Tony.

"Like should we be selling tickets to this?" Pepper asked.

"Cute, very cute." Tony said sarcastically as he pushed the button for the basement. They got down to the basement, and Tony punched in a code. The door unlocked and he walked through, letting Bruce and Pepper follow. They got to the door and Tony punched in the code again, and then opened the door.

The moment the door opened I limped out of the room, my knee must have gotten banged up in the fall, and I was tired, hungry, and in a lot of pain.

"You forgot about me?" I asked Tony, my eyes moving from Pepper, to the man with slightly gray streaked dark hair and dark eyes who was wearing some loose fitting clothes that looked very odd on him, to Tony.

"Did everyone forget the part where I saved you?" he asked. I sighed, then leaned forward and hugged him tightly. "At least she appreciates me. Hey, Minnie, how'd you like to be CEO?"

"Not on your life." I mumbled into his shirt, before sniffling.

"Minnie, are you... Crying?"

"No... I'm just allergic to green energy." I tapped the arc reactor making him chuckle.

"What happened to your knee?" Pepper asked when I hugged her.

"I fell down some stairs." I shook my head, then wiped my eyes quickly, and smiled at the man.

"Impossible. You're much more coordinated then that." Tony said making me turn a dark glare on him.

"I'm sorry, I was semi hysterical, I had just watched my boss get _thrown out a window_!" I shouted at him. "I need a drink. Now." I scowled.

"Worried about me?" he asked as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, worried I'd have to file for unemployment." I said, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Hey, Pepper's already said that one, after Afghanistan, get your own insults." Tony said sounding insulted, more over the fact that I had "Stolen" an insult, rather than the fact he was being insulted.

"Oh don't get me started." I said shaking my head. I sighed, and then looked to the dark haired man who was standing there looking surprised. "Hi, sorry, I'm Minnie, Mr. Stark's assistant."

"Bruce, Bruce Banner, nice to meet you." he said, and looked down at my knee. "Do you want me to take a look at that?"

"No, I'm sure it'll be fine." I shrugged.

"If you don't have it looked at, it could get worse." he said and I sighed, before looking to Pepper who nodded. Tony was already halfway down the hall. We followed after him, me limping along while Pepper filled me in on everything that had happened. Bruce walked alongside me slowly; he looked tired, and ready to just pass out. I felt something touch my arm, and I looked over at Bruce who held his arm out to me. "Would you like some help?" he asked softly. It was sweet for him to offer, but he looked so tired I doubted he could support me and him. He seemed to realize that because next thing I knew he had taken my hand and put it on his arm. "Just put a little pressure on me when you take a step." he ordered. I sighed, and then did as he was told until we got to the elevator. Pepper had hardly noticed I wasn't paying attention until I looked to Tony.

"So, did we win?" I asked. Pepper stopped talking, Bruce looked over at me and Tony smiled before he ruffled my hair, making most of the loose bits come out of the screwed up French twist I had it in.


	3. Chapter 3

**_First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, or put my story on their alerts or favorites list! I can't believe how many alerts I got when I checked my email today! I hope you like this chapter!_**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. She's very pleased that everyone seems to like her so far._**

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"Director Fury," I blinked in surprise at the director of SHIELD. It was a year after the Loki incident, and I had just opened the door to Avengers Mansion. It once was Stark Mansion, but he decided to open it up as a home to the other Avengers when they needed it, and weren't staying at the Stark Tower- or A Tower, whichever name worked, or wherever else they went. With them it was a mystery, but some of them, like Captain Rogers, liked to send me post cards, or letters. I liked corresponding with Captain Rogers. He always was timely with his letters, he was polite, he liked to write and seeing as I was one of the only people who took time to write him back, he told me everything he was doing. Which consisted mostly, of traveling around the country.

"Good afternoon Ms. Strong, is your boss in?"

"Yes sir." I said softly. I opened the door wider for him, and let him in.

"Is Dr. Banner still staying here?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yes sir, he's back."

"Back? Where did he go?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. He only returned home last night, and he's still asleep." I said. "If you'd like a cup of coffee, I believe you know where the kitchen is, let me go get Tony." I smiled at Fury who nodded.

"Thank you Ms. Strong." he said and went to the kitchen.

"Jarvis," I said to the AI after a moment of thought. I hadn't liked why he asked where Dr. Banner had been so quickly. "Restrict Director Fury's access to the kitchen." that way if he decides to try finding out for himself, it wouldn't be without me and Tony there.

"Yes Miss Strong," Jarvis replied. "And if he wishes to go elsewhere?"

"Inform him it's a restricted area." I replied.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll love that." Jarvis said making me chuckle. I made my way to the garage where Tony was working on one of his cars.

"Tony, Director Fury is here to see you." I said.

"Well he can see half of me." he offered making me roll my eyes as he lifted a hand to cover one of his eyes. "Where is he?"

"I had Jarvis lock him in the kitchen."

"What does he want?"

"He didn't say. He asked about Dr. Banner though."

"What did he ask?" he asked instantly.

"Where he had been. I told him we didn't know, that Dr. Banner had gone straight to bed and was still asleep." I paused. "That's why I had Jarvis restrict his access to the kitchen. That, and because I knew you wouldn't want SHIELD walking around the mansion." I shrugged.

"Good girl." he said as he wiped his hands on his oil rag. He walked ahead of me, silently to the kitchen where Director Fury was looking frustrated. "What's the matter Nick? Not used to locked doors?"

"You treat all your guests like this?"

"Only the ones liable to go wake up the beast." Tony snarked. I amused myself with that little though, then cleared my throat.

"Ms. Strong, will you give us a minute?"

"If either of you make a mess in here, it'll take more than SHIELD to stop me from killing you both." I said, and smiled sweetly before I turned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

"Ms. Stong, Dr. Banner is awake." Jarvis said as I started to sit down in the living room.

"Thank you Jarvis." I said before I stood back up and went upstairs. I went to Dr. Banner's room and knocked on the door before I opened it. Dr. Banner was buttoning up a blue shirt and looked over as I walked in. "Hello Dr. Banner, how are you?" I asked with a smile. He had left a month after the Loki incident, and returned periodically, though I hardly saw him when he did.

"I'm good, good to see you Minnie." he said.

"You as well Dr. Banner." I said. "Before you leave the room, I feel I should warn you, Director Fury is in the kitchen."

"What does he want?"

"I'm afraid I don't know." I said softly. "He asked for Tony when he came in, but asked about you when he got inside."

"What did you say?"

"That you came home and went right to bed." I said simply. He blinked in slight surprise, and then nodded.

"Right, okay." he said looking down, finishing the buttons on his shirt.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked with a small frown.

"No, no, you- It's nothing." he smiled.

"No, if I said something to upset you Dr. Banner, I'd like to know what it was so I know not to say it again."

"No, it's just. You said I came... Home." he said making me frown lightly. "It's been a long time since I've thought of anywhere as home." he explained.

"Oh..." I said softly, then quickly smiled. "Well, it took me awhile to think of New York as home too, but once I did, it made it a lot easier with the homesickness." I said as I smiled at the Doctor.

"Do you live in the mansion too?"

"Oh no sir, I have an apartment about seven blocks from here." I shook my head. "Working for Tony is enough, I don't think I could live with him too." I chuckled.

"Ms. Strong, Mr. Fury has requested you escort Dr. Banner to the kitchen."

"Why Jarvis, Dr. Banner is still asleep." I said with a small smile.

"He says if that's the case, you are required to wake him up."

"Alright Jarvis, thank you." I sighed, then looked to Dr. Banner. "No rest for the wicked huh?" I asked with a smile.

"You've got no idea." he said softly. He put his glasses on and nodded to me.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, going into a meeting with Fury." he muttered. I smiled and lead him to the kitchen where I punched in an access code. "You... Locked them in?"

"Well technically I locked Fury in." I shrugged. "I didn't want him going searching for you while I went to find Tony."

"Well, thanks." he looked a little surprised as I opened the door, and let him in.

"Dr. Banner." I said to the two men who were having a slight stare down. They both settled their hard gazes on me making me raise my eyebrows.

I hadn't realized I had just interrupted one of the tensest staring contests in history. I almost expected to hear Ennio Morricone in the background and see a tumbleweed roll across the kitchen while Fury and Stark both went for their six shooters.

"Uh... If I can get you anything else, please let Jarvis know." I smiled, and looked at Dr. Banner sympathetically. He gave me a small half smile, and walked into the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed. This chapter has a little more Minnie and Bruce, so I hope you like it.

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"Hey Minnie?"

"Not now Tony." I muttered as my fingers flew across the keyboard of my laptop.

"Minnie?" Maybe if I ignore him, he'll get bored and go away... Wait, no, last time he got bored...

"Yeah Tony?" I looked up with a smile on my face.

"I need you to take Bruce to the labs at the tower, and hang around, help him out if he needs anything. Keep him happy, y'know? But not too happy." he said making me sigh.

"Tony, I have a ton of planning to do for your party." I sighed.

"So do it from there." he shrugged.

"Okay." I sighed, at least it would get me out of the house for awhile. I stood up and closed my computer. "Where's Dr. Banner?"

"Tony, are you ready to go?" Dr. Banner asked as he walked downstairs holding a few files and pulling on a jacket.

"Turns out, I promised to take Pepper to lunch, and if I reschedule it again- well, let's just say things are going to be very tense around here." he nodded looking unhappy. "So, Minnie has graciously offered to take you and keep you happy. But G rated happy. The last thing we need is baby Banners running around her." he waved his hand around.

"Tony," I said with a frown.

"Oh okay, PG, but like I said, no baby Banners! If you have to get PG13 or even R make sure you've got a guaranteed no spin-offs contract."

"Tony-" Dr. Banner was blushing. "I'm not-"

"Well why not? How long's it been man? No wonder you're so tense all the time. Might do both of you some good, just keep it off the lab equipment, I work there too."

"Good bye Tony." I said as I took my computer and grabbed Dr. Banner by the wrist.

"So I'm not the only one he teases then."

"No. No, he sent out a memo once, trying to get me a date. It was extremely embarrassing." I rolled my eyes as I got into one of the cars. "Coming?" He got into the passenger's side and buckled up as I started the car and drove down the driveway. "So, how was your trip?" I asked.

"It didn't work." he muttered.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry, nothing. It uh, it was interesting."

"What didn't work?"

"I was... Looking for inspiration."

"And you didn't get it?"

"Well," he said after a moment. "I learned how to _not_ do what I wanted to do."

"Kind of like Eddison." I said with a small smile.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"After inventing the lightbulb Thomas Eddison had said "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."." I answered.

"That's a good way of looking at it I guess." he said.

"So where did you go?"

"All over the place. Canada mostly." he said and I smiled.

"What part?"

"Quebec."

"Parlez-vous français?" (_Do you speak French_?) I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Oui, un peu." (_Yes a little_) he replied with a smile, though his pronunciation wasn't perfect, but it was good.

"Avez-vous déjà été en France?" (_Have you ever been to France_?) I asked and he shook his head.

"Non, j'ai appris au Québec." (_No, I learned in Quebec_)

"Dommage, je l'entends c'est beau." (_Pity, I hear it's beautiful_) I sighed.

"Oui, très belle..." (_Yes, very beautiful_) he said softly, before turning his eyes back to the road in front of us. "If you've never been to France, why do you speak French?"

"My mom is French. Her parents never bothered learning English, and would stay with us every summer. My mom always thought kids in the United States were lazy, so she made sure I learned more than one language growing up." I shrugged with a light blush. "I'm not particularly clever or talented at many things, but I can pick up languages pretty quickly."

"Yeah me too." he nodded. "Sometimes you have to adapt."

"Exactly." I grinned.

"So you're half French, what's the other half?" he asked.

"Italian and German actually." I said and he raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, uh, my dad's mother was from Germany and his Father was from Italy. When his grandparents came to America they changed their last name at Elis Island. It's kind of weird knowing they lived here then, and I live here now." I smiled.

"What was their name before?" he asked. I had to admit I was slightly surprised I was telling him this much, but he wanted to know, and Tony did tell me to keep him happy.

"It was Alduino." I said. "Which is from a German name that translates to Strong Friend." I smiled looking over at him momentarily. "I got really into that genealogy stuff for awhile. What about you, where's your family from?"

"I'm not really sure." he said hesitantly.

"You never asked?"

"My family and I don't really talk." he said shortly.

"Oh, I- I'm sorry Dr. Banner." I said softly. "I didn't mean to pry."

"It's okay." he said and let out a sigh as he looked out the window, watching traffic move by.

When we got to Stark Tower I scanned my ID and the gate opened letting me park in the underground parking garage. I pulled into my spot right next to Tony's, and got out of the car, Dr. Banner following. I pushed the button and we waited for the elevator.

"Which lab are you going to be working in?"

"Tony said Lab 12 was open?"

"Okay." I nodded as the elevator dinged. The door opened and Dr. Banner held his arm out, allowing me to step inside first. He stepped in after me and I pushed the button for the correct floor. Bruce seemed surprised there were no stops making me look at him with a small smile. "It helps having access to Tony's personal elevator." I shrugged and he smiled.

"Of course." he nodded. We walked onto the floor when the door opened and I smiled at the secretary on that floor, a slightly flamboyant man named Dallas who was answering the phone sounding bored.

"Stark Towers, R&D please hold. Stark Towers, R&D please hold..." he droned as he filed his nails. He looked up when he heard the elevator open and practically squealed when I came walking out. "Oh my god, it's been so long! What has Tony Stark been making you do? It can't be easy working under him, though, girl I'm so jealous if you really are working _under_ him."

"Jesus, what is it with people and my sex life today." I muttered under my breath. "First you, now Tony?" I asked looked at Dr. Banner. "No offense of course Dr. Banner, it just wouldn't be professional." I shook my head. He just nodded and I turned back to Dallas. "Hey, spaz attack. Chill, this is Dr. Bruce Banner, he's going to be doing some work in Lab 12. He is not to be disturbed unless it is by Ms Potts, or Tony Stark himself, do you understand?" I asked and Dallas sighed.

"Yes mother." he sighed.

"I wish to hell I was your mother, you never would have made it out of the house with that tie." I scoffed.

"Please, you never would have made it out of the house with that _hair_." he shot back making me self consciously touch my hair.

"You secretaries are so mean." I said as I lead Dr. Banner to the lab. "Sorry you had to see that, it's just a sort of thing we do." I shrugged and Dr. Banner smiled lightly.

"It was funny." he admitted.

"Dr. Banner, is there anything I can get you? Coffee, tea?"

"Actually a tea would be amazing." he smiled.

"Great. Let me go get that started for you." I said, and walked out of the lab leaving him to his work.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Man I am on a roll! Hope you like chapter five! _**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. She's a little awkward._ **

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The kitchen was located at the end of a hallway, and was large. It was well maintained due to our craft services team who maintained kitchens on every floor. I opened one cabinet I knew was where they kept the tea and sighed at all the different boxes.

Green Tea, white tea, lemon, blueberry, white truffle, sleepy time, green tea with lemon, green tea with honey and lemon, gypsy cold care, peppermint, peppermint twist, ginger, peppermint and ginger, chamomile, jasmine, dandelion root, jasmine pearl... It was all making my head spin.

"Who knew," I mumbled as I pulled myself up on the counter on my knees. "There were so many flavors of tea." I sighed reading the back of one, and set it down. After a few minutes of that my knees were starting to ache, the one hadn't been the same since I fell down the stairs the year before. I ignored it as I usually did and reached for a tea in the back when my knee gave out. I yelped, my center was off and I was falling back slightly, and right into someone. They wrapped their arms around my waist and steadied me there, before slowly helping me off of the counter.

"Are you okay?" Dr. Banner asked making me tense up. Of course he would be the one to catch me. How freaking embarrassing.

"I'm so sorry Dr. Banner." I said.

"Sorry? What for?" he asked with a frown.

"I fell on you."

"I caught you, there's a difference."

"Not really."

"The difference is, I caught you." he said after a moment. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head up there?" with a small smile.

"My head is fine. Though an argument could be made against that considering how long I've worked for Tony." I sighed making him nod.

"You're okay." he said and I nodded.

"I don't know I think I suffered a severe blow." I sighed.

"Where?" he looked me over, like he was trying to make sure I was okay.

"My ego." I nodded and he smiled. "But," I said and I held up the can of tea I had been reaching for. "I saved the tea."

"Wow you guys actually have this stuff?" he asked as he took the can from me.

"Is it good?"

"It's great, I used to drink this all the time when I was in India."

"You were in India?" I asked.

"Sure, for awhile." he nodded. "Right before SHIELD dragged be back into this whole mess."

"Oh." I nodded. "That must have been remarkable."

"I was around death a lot of the time." he sighed as he stared at the tea. "I went there to try to help people, but this epidemic hit the village I was in. more often than not people were beyond my help." I stared at him for a moment before I reached out and touched his hand. He looked up at me and I swallowed, I didn't know what to say.

"I'm sure you did everything you could for them. And knowing that someone fought for them, even if they didn't win, but that someone fought for them... Well knowing something like that would put me at peace." I nodded. He sighed, and then tossed the tea back on the table. "Is green tea okay?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah." he answered shortly as he went back to the lab. I sighed as I covered my very pink face with my hands. Little did either of us know, our little private moment right there, was not as private as we thought.

* * *

"Huh." Tony muttered as he watched the security camera video. "Who'd have guessed?"

"Tony you ready to go?"

"Yeah, hey Pep, what do you think of Minnie and Banner?"

"What about them?" Pepper asked.

"What do you think of them?"

"Well Minnie is one of my closest friends, and Bruce seems pretty-"

"No, what do you think of them Together?" he asked.

"What are you talking about Tony?" she frowned as she walked over to his desk.

He rewound the security video and played back what happened, starting from the lab, there were many small windows open over his monitors showing the series of events. There was no sound, but they watched as Minnie walked out of the lab, down the hall to the kitchen. She looked at different types of tea, trying to decide, before pulling herself into the counter on her knees. She was looking at more types when Dr. Banner seemed to realize she was still gone. He went to a map showing the layout of the floor on the wall and followed the hallway to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway to the kitchen watching her for a moment, while she threw a box of tea over her shoulder. Her balance was suddenly off, and she was falling back, Bruce crossed the distance quickly, and managed to grab her around the waist.

"Wow."

"Yeah he's a quick one." Tony agreed.

"But Tony, that doesn't mean-"

"Keep watching." he said.

Bruce and Minnie talked for a moment, Bruce looking at the can of tea she had handed him; he must have been upset about something, because Minnie moved forward and lightly touched his hand. He looked up quickly, she spoke, and he sighed before tossing the can of tea onto the table. She said something else to him; he nodded before going to the hallway.

"_Tony_-"

"_Look_," he insisted.

They watched as Bruce stood in the hallway, looked back at the kitchen, and then looked at his hand, where she had touched him. He quickly checked his pulse, and then took a few deep breaths before he went back to lab 12.

"Wow." Pepper said after a moment.

"Yeah." he said and looked back up at her. "Interesting, isn't it?"

"Tony, you need to stay out of it." Pepper said instantly.

"Oh come on Pepper, this is-"

"This is none of your business." she said quickly. "Now, let's go, we've got reservations." she said as she dragged him out of the house. Tony spent the entire lunch plotting ways to get his two awkward friends together.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Again, thanks to everyone whose reviewed, or added the story to their watch/favorite list, I'm glad you all like the story so much, and I'm glad you like Minnie! In case you all were wondering, you find out her given name in this chapter. Everyone's just so used to calling her Minnie, that's how she introduces herself now. So, anyways, here's my last update for tonight, no Bruce in this one, but he'll be in the next one, as will Dallas, for you Dallas fans out there. I hope you like it!** _

* * *

That evening when I got home I pulled my hair from the French twist I kept it in and sighed in comfort as it fell past my shoulder blades. I ran my hands through my hair as I kicked off my shoes and tossed my purse on the couch. I went to the bathroom and turned on the tub, letting the hot water fill up the porcelain claw foot tub I had fallen in love with when I looked at the apartment. I poured some Lily of the Valley bath oil into the water and unbuttoned my shirt when I heard my phone ringing. I groaned and went to the couch where I had tossed my purse and looked at the caller ID before I sighed, and answered.

"Hey Tabby." I said to my little sister.

"Hey what's going on?"

"Not a whole lot, I just got home from work." I answered as I went to the kitchen. I pulled out a half empty bottle of white wine and poured some into a glass.

"Isn't it like ten o'clock there?"

"It's nine thirty." I said as I looked at the clock on the wall. "Why?"

"Nothing, you're just... Working late." she said and I nodded even though she couldn't see me.

"No kidding. So what's up?"

"Nothing, just... Stressing I guess." she sighed as I walked to my bathroom with my glass of wine.

"Okay kiddo, lay it on me." I said as I turned on the speaker phone. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Good, go on."

"Well, Chaz's mom has until this point totally ignored everything, and then she comes to me and starts saying all this stuff about why she's not at the right table and why aren't we inviting some random people that Chaz hasn't seen since he was like... An infant or something and she's flipping out telling me I'm doing a horrible job at trying to fit into the family and all this shit!" she said, I could hear her tearing up. "It's just, everything is going crazy and I have no idea what to do about it." I turned the water off in the tub while she was talking and finished undressing.

"Fuck 'er." I said and she laughed. "Seriously, that crazy woman is just jealous you're marrying her son, I mean in case you haven't noticed," I let out a small hiss as I stepped into the hot tub. "Ahh. Oh man. Right, anyway, in case you haven't noticed, she's totally one of those over protective; no woman is good enough for her kid types of mothers."

"Jesus Sammy, if I'm ever like that, please, please shoot me." she sighed.

"Number one, you won't be like that, and number two, just be glad I talked you out of letting her be part of the wedding party." I said and she laughed. "I mean, that woman in the maid of honor dress, puh-lease." I rolled my eyes.

"I know right." she laughed. "Oh, hey, you made the appointment right?"

"Yeah, Pepper, Dallas and I are going to the dress shop tomorrow so I can get my fitting."

"Oh good." she sighed. "Thanks so much for this Sam."

"It's nothing Tabs." I muttered. "Just... Don't stress. I'm sure that's bad for the baby."

"I'm not pregnant you crazy bitch."

"Yeah that's what you say." I said and she let out an aggravated laugh. "God it's going to be so awkward at the wedding."

"How so?"

"I mean think about it. MeeMaw is going to be elbowing me all night telling me I'm next or I better hurry up and catch up with my _little_ sister." I scoffed. "I have half a mind to invite Pepper as my plus one and tell the entire family I'm into girls."

"Oh please, they already think you are." she said making me pause through the sip of wine I was taking.

"I'm sorry?" I asked and she sighed.

"I promised I wouldn't tell, but Abby went on this long thing a few weeks ago about how she's pretty sure you're into girls, and how you haven't had a _real_ boyfriend since Simon... Is it weird that I'm marrying his cousin?"

"No, it's not weird. If Chaz was a few years older, hell I might have had a thing for him." I joked. "And besides, with my track record, is it really any surprise I'm staying away from the scene for awhile?"

"Awhile?"

"Okay so it's been like, almost five years, but I mean, come on. I don't exactly need a boyfriend to get what I want."

"And what do you want?"

"Unbelievable sex." I said simply. She laughed and I smiled. "No but seriously, after Simon, everything was real crazy, and then I was hired on full time at Stark Industries, and then I got Pepper's old job, then there was the move, and it's just, it's hard finding the time to date."

"Are you still writing Captain America?" she asked and I sipped my wine.

"Yeah, I actually got a postcard from him this morning. He's in Tennessee right now, I told him a couple of cool places to check out in Memphis and Knoxville. I introduced him to the King a few months ago."

"He had never heard Elvis?"

"He was frozen for like seventy years!" I defended him.

"God, imagine not knowing the King." she said and I smiled.

"Needless to say the soundtrack to our lives would be pretty boring. Oh, speaking of which, I have a new playlist for you, I'll email it to you later."

"Okay, uh, hey look, I should go, Chaz just got home, but tell me how the fitting goes tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, talk to you tomorrow. Tell my soon to be brother in law I say hello."

"Hi Simone!" I heard Chaz shout in the background making me laugh.

"He says hi." she said with a giggle. "I've got to- Oh! Chaz Jesus, no, I'm on the phone." she giggled as I heard him attacking her neck with kisses.

"Sammy, Tabby will have to call you back." Chaz said into the phone making me laugh.

"That's fine, I was about to hang up on her anyways." I said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Tabby."

"Uhhuh." she said before hanging up the phone. I chuckled, finished my wine, and slid under the water, letting the hot water melt away all of my stress.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hi guys! This is my longest chapter yet, and it's got more Bruce in it! Yaay! In the next chapter there'll be even MORE Bruce! Woohoo! Thanks again to everyone whose reviewed, you guys reviewing is what inspires me to keep writing! Seriously, reviews are like crack, it's awesome! Not that I know what crack is like or anything, that stuff is bad. So, you keep reviewing and I'll keep off the crack, okay guys? _**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Dallas and Minnie._**

* * *

The next day Pepper, Dallas and I went to the bridal shop. "I love weddings." Dallas sighed as he flipped through a bridal magazine, and then turned to Pepper. "When are you and the _delicious_ Mr. Stark tying the knot?"

"Dallas." I sighed as shook my head as I walked up to the manager. "Hi, I'm sorry, how much longer is this going to take?"

"I'm so sorry dear, there's a young bride in there with a _Very_ indecisive soon to be mother in law and mother." the manager sighed.

"Yeesh, poor girl." I said and the manager nodded.

"Can I offer you some coffee or anything while you wait?"

"I would love a cup of coffee." Pepper piped up and Dallas nodded.

"I think coffee would be great, thank you so much." I smiled.

"Again, I'm very sorry." the manager said and I nodded. I sat back down and Dallas looked at me over the edge of the magazine.

"So, tell me about that Dr. Banter."

"Banner." I corrected him as I looked at my phone. "And there's nothing to tell, he's a doctor and a friend of Tony's."

"He's pretty cute…" he said and smiled at the woman who brought our coffee over. Pepper was outside on the phone, probably telling Tony we were going to be late to lunch.

"Thanks." I smiled at the woman and mixed Pepper's coffee the way I knew she liked it, and then poured two sugars into my coffee with no cream. Black as night but sweet as a kiss. I heard that somewhere once, but I didn't remember where. It was just something I thought of when I made my coffee now. Pepper walked back into the shop and smiled as I handed her the coffee.

"They're going to meet us here and we'll go from here."

"They?" I asked.

"Tony is dragging Bruce along, says he needs to stop spending so much time in the lab. Is that okay?"

"We were just talking about him." Dallas said looking at me with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Who Tony? What about?" Pepper asked.

"No, his friend, Dr. Banner. I was just saying how cute he and Minnie over there would be. In a sort of College student and her professor sort of way." he said and I blushed lightly.

"God I need to stop telling you things." I muttered.

"Why, what happened?" Pepper looked at me innocently.

"I was making Dr. Banner some tea, and I was going for one of the boxes near the back on the top shelf in the floor twelve kitchen and I almost fell off the counter. Dr. Banner had come looking for me I guess, and he caught me before I hit the floor, it was really embarrassing." I said shaking my head.

"Mom, It's My Wedding!" a girl who looked like she was sixteen with a very obviously swollen stomach said as she and two women walked through the shop. "It made me look fat!"

"Uh, no, that would be my _very_ premature grandchild making you look fat." the girl's mother said as they walked out.

"Ms. Strong?" the manager of the shop asked and I looked up. "If you and your friends are ready, we're all ready for you."

"Thank you Mrs. Cooper." I said as we walked into the back. I went to a dressing room and changed into the dress, then walked out.

"Ow, hot stuff!" Dallas said making me and Pepper laugh.

"Okay, it looks like we may have to take it in a little here, tell me if this hurts." the woman setting the pins said as she started to take in the waist a little.

"I'm fine." I said as she continued to work on the dress. I looked in the mirror and sighed, running my hands over the front of the dress.

It was a beautiful dress that much was sure. I knew Tabby would pick a nice dress, but this. I was tempted to keep the dress for other occasions in the future. It was strapless, and hugged my bust a little tightly; blue gauzy material was laid over white satiny material. It was pulled tight all the way to my hips, and then loosened out a little, flowing down past my feet. There was already a woman pinning it up so it could be hemmed. The pale blue gauzy material was very soft and I had to admit looked great with my red hair.

"Let your hair loose so I can send a picture to your sister." Pepper instructed. I looked at the woman who was talking about letting the bust area out just a teensy bit, and she nodded so I unclipped my hair, letting it fall around my shoulders in red waves from being pinned up in that twist for so long. Pepper took a picture on my phone and I smiled.

"So what happened after you fell on Dr. Banner?" Dallas asked, not giving up that easily.

"Uh, nothing. He put me down-"

"Wait, he caught you- like he was holding you?" he asked and I nodded.

"I was kneeling on the counter, my knee gave out."

"Oh, honey you have to have that looked at." Pepper said and I rolled my eyes.

"They said I should get some sort of surgery." I said. "I mean, it's not getting worse, but it's not getting better."

"So, he catches you, and he's holding you..."

"Look it wasn't what you're thinking okay, it's not like a Colin Firth Mr. Darcy came running out of a lake and held me in his arms while he and I stared intensely into each other's eyes." I said as I rolled my eyes. "He caught me from behind."

"Ow, I always knew you were into the kinky shit!" he laughed and I actually threw a magazine at him.

"He put me down, we talked for a minute, I made him tea and he went back to work!" I shouted at Dallas, my face was turning red, I could see it in the mirror and Pepper was laughing.

"I'd recognize that slightly embarrassed exasperated shout anywhere." Tony said as he came into the fitting room.

"I'm sorry Ms. Strong, he insisted." Mrs. Cooper said as Tony and Dr. Banner walked in.

"It's fine Mrs. Cooper, I'm surprised he stayed away this long." I said with a sigh. I looked at Tony who was looking my dress over, and I held out my arms. "What do you think?"

"You know you so rarely wear these types of things; I sometimes forget you have a figure."

"Jesus, it's not like I'm wearing sweat pants and hoodies all day." I said with a small scowl.

"True and, you can just call me Tony."

"You're lucky I threw the last magazine at Dallas." I said with a smile, making him grin as he sat down next to Pepper, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"Bruce what do you think of Minnie's new look?" Dr. Banner looked away from his cell phone and at me, his dark eyes caught mine, and he held his gaze for a moment, before he looked me over. I felt my face heat up slightly as he looked my dress over, and then looked back at me.

"You look nice." he said finally and I smiled lightly.

"Thank you Dr. Banner." I said.

"Okay we're done." the woman said to me and I looked away from the older man to her and then smiled.

"Oh good."

"Please be careful to not move the pins."

"I'll help!" Dallas said flinging himself off of the couch.

"God any excuse to go into a dressing room with me." I rolled my eyes as we went to the dressing room.

"Okay_, oh my god_, that was _so_ hot!" he practically squealed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as I held my hair up so he could unzip the back of my dress.

"That _look_, talk about intense Colin Firth staring into each other's eyes." he said and sighed holding a hand to his heart.

"He looked at my dress." I said with a shrug.

"No, Tony Stark looked at your dress. Dr. Banner, _he_ looked at _you_." he said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"I hardly know him." I said with a small laugh.

"Girl you need to do something about that, because when a guy looks at you like he did, you do _not_ let him go."

"He's my boss' friend." I said softly.

"Yeah, and honey, you boss is dating his ex secretary and makes sexist jokes to your face. I highly doubt he's gonna care." he said before he helped me out of the dress. "I'll see you out there." he walked out of the dressing room with the dress and handed it to the woman who had marked the alterations. I dressed quickly and walked out of the dressing room as well, and went to the front of the store where everyone was. "Baby girl, you've got another fitting in two weeks."

"Thanks." I said as Dallas put it into my phone.

"Getting married?" Dr. Banner asked and I looked up at him.

"Uh, no sir, my sister is." I said as I took my purse from Dallas.

"You have siblings?"

"Yes sir, three. An older brother, an older sister and a younger sister." I chuckled softly. "My little sister is getting married, which makes me the only Strong sibling left." I said as I thought about my conversations from the night before. "Which apparently concerns my family."

"What about?" he asked as we walked outside, trailing after Tony, Pepper and Dallas, all three of whom, I didn't notice, were subtly watching Dr. Banner and I talk.

"They think I swing the other way because I haven't seriously dated in a few years." I shrugged.

"Really?" he asked and I shrugged. "Do you?" he asked and I looked up at him to see him smiling.

"No, Dr. Banner, I'll have you know, I am _extremely _attracted to men." I said crossing my arms.

"I'm sorry, that was mean," he said with a small laugh. "I just wanted to see what you would do."

"If you'd have been Tony or Dallas, I'd probably have wacked you." I said shaking my head. He started to chuckle and I sighed. "That is not funny Dr. Banner." he paused when I called him that, and then cleared his throat.

"You can call me Bruce you know." he said and I looked up at him. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and I smiled.

"Okay Bruce." I said, and stuck out my hand. He looked at it, and then slipped his own hand into mine. "Nice to meet you." I said as I shook his hand. He smiled a little bit wider, and held my hand a little bit longer, before slipping his out of my grasp.

"It's nice to meet you too Minnie." he said as we continued to walk, the both of us continued to smile the entire way to the restaurant.

Lunch was a very pleasant affair.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Okay, you guys might get a liiiiiittle pissed at me for this chapter. It gets better, I swear! Lotsa tension in this one. I'll have the next chapter out soon.** _

* * *

"No, no no no no no no!" I was shouting into the phone when Tony and Bruce walked into the kitchen on the mansion. "Well I don't care how- You can't just- Well forget the Senator's daughter, this is Tony Stark, he probably dated the Senator's daughter once! This is SO Unprofessional!" I shouted. "Oh, well right back at you!" I hung up before throwing the cell phone across the kitchen, surprised and embarrassed when Bruce caught it.

"What happened kiddo?" Tony asked as he took a handful of jelly beans that were in a bowl on the counter.

"That was the caterer." I said. "The Senator offered them double what we were paying him to do his daughter's party."

"So offer him triple."

"He says with everything that happened last year and all, the senator would be a much safer choice, and would probably help his career better then you could." I growled.

"Screw it, find a new one. Someone who does those little crab cakes, the ones that are like this big." he said as he showed me how big he wanted.

"Tony, the party is in two weeks." I said.

"So find them fast." he said simply. I stood there staring at him, completely speechless. "Hey did the Chinese guy get here yet?"

"I- What?"

"We ordered Chinese food for lunch, did they-" he was cut off by the gate bell ringing.

"Sir, I believe that's the delivery man." Jarvis said and Tony grinned.

"I'll get it." he said as he went to the front door.

"Here." Bruce walked over to me and handed me my phone.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." I said and he shook his head.

"I've seen worse." he said and I nodded.

"Yeah, sure." I muttered as I pressed my fingers against my temples. "God, I can't believe these people..."

"You know, I know a few techniques for calming down and controlling anger." Bruce said and I looked at him curiously.

"Like what, meditation? Smooth jazz?" I asked sarcastically. He raised his eyebrows and I sighed. "I- I'm sorry Bruce, I know you're trying to help."

"So let me." he said and I nodded.

"Okay, go." I said.

"First, take a deep breath." he said and I did. "No, not- not like that." he said and stepped up behind me. "When you breathe normally you breathe from your chest, here." he said, and put his right hand on my chest, just under my collarbone. "Breathe deeply, from your diaphragm." he said softly, wrapping his other arm around me, placing it right on my stomach. I was so stunned I forgot to take a breath until he was speaking softly in my ear. "Breathe." he said and I did, taking in a deep breath like he told me. "Relax." he said.

I instantly felt all of my anger melt away as I stood there, in his arms. He seemed to realize the position we were in when I felt him tense up slightly. I turned and looked back at him, not really expecting his face to be so close to mine. We looked at each other for a moment, our faces were so close, and we both seemed to realize this. I was surprised when he moved forward rather then moving away, I turned my body, so I was facing him, moved in a little closer, I could feel his breath on my lips-

"Banner, if you don't eat some of this, the grease may overpower me." Bruce called from the hallway. I quickly pulled away from him; my heart was pounding in my chest as he looked at me for a long moment, and then turned his attention to Tony.

"Yeah, I'm- I'm coming." he called.

"Great, and bring some paper plates, is Minnie still in there?"

"She just left." Bruce said as I walked out of the kitchen, my hand on my head, my face bright red. I could not believe myself.

"Stupid stupid stupid!" I whispered to myself.

"Ms. Strong-"

"Not now Jarvis, I'm having a breakdown." I said as I rubbed my temples.

"Try taking a deep breath Ms. Strong." I did as the AI said, taking a deep breath like Bruce showed me. I could still hear him speaking behind me, whispering "Breathe, Relax".

"Jarvis, what do I do?"

"Am I really qualified to give you advice about this?" Jarvis asked and I sighed impatiently. "Oh very well. I'd say just let things happen."

"Yeah but he's Tony's friend."

"Oh yes, that's a good excuse." he said sarcastically. I laughed and covered my eyes with my hand, and leaned on the wall.

"What is going on?" I muttered with a small smile.

"Good question." I jumped and looked over at Tony who was leaning against the wall next to me.

"How long have you been there?" I asked.

"Long enough to know what you did- Or, what you didn't do that is." he said and I felt my face heat up.

"It was nothing." I said.

"That not what Jarvis says."

"You rat." I said looking at the ceiling.

"Please don't blame me, he programs me." Jarvis replied and I smiled. There was no way I could stay annoyed at Jarvis.

"So, what happened?" Tony asked. "And keep in mind, the kitchen is a common place, so even if you don't tell me, I can always go look at the security tapes."

"Then why don't you do that Tony?" I asked. "Because I've got to go find a new caterer for a party that's happening in two weeks." I pulled my phone from my pocket and started scrolling through numbers as I walked away.

"You know you're not the only one who's hesitant." he called after me. I didn't stop, I didn't look back, I just kept my eyes focused on my phone.

The next two days went by quickly, I had finally found a caterer who was more than happy to cook for a party for about three hundred people in two weeks. The guy actually thanked me. I was finishing up filling out the paperwork with him in the kitchen when Tony walked in.

"Who's this?"

"Tony, this is Mr. Adair, he's the new caterer."

"Oh good, did you get those little crab cakes?" he asked.

"Yes of course Mr. Stark." the man said with a thick middle eastern accent.

"Great." Tony said as I walked Mr. Adair to the door.

"Thank you so much Mr. Adair." I said. "I'll call you next week."

"Yes of course, Ms. Strong. Thank you." he said and I shook his hand before he left.

"So, hey, I've got to go help Pepper with some stuff, and I've got that uh-"

"The meeting with the air force."

"Yeah right, that." he mumbled. "Anyways, can you bring some food down to Bruce? He's in the second lab downstairs."

"Sure." I said hesitantly.

"Great, thanks kiddo." he kissed the top of my head making me swat at him. "Oh," he turned as he looked back at me. "Go ahead and be as nice as you want." he smiled and walked away making me scowl.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Banner and Minnie make their peace._**

* * *

After Tony left I did a few things around the house. I loaded the dishwasher, I made a few calls concerning a painting Tony wanted to buy Pepper, I made plans with Dallas to go dress shopping for the party, and I tried my hardest to avoid going down to the lab until I remembered Tony asked me to bring Bruce some food. I sighed, and decided just because I was childish was no reason to let the guy starve, and knowing Tony, this guy was probably one of those, won't eat unless he's dragged away from his work type.

I made him a quick plate of some heated up spaghetti and garlic bread I had made for Tony the day before and put it on a tray with an iced tea, and went to the elevator. I took it down to the second basement where I knew Tony did some of his Iron Man work.

On one side of the lab was a wall of Iron Man suits. Each one different in technology, an improvement from the last. On the other side of the lab was Bruce, working on a computer screen, his sleeve was rolled up and a tourniquet tied. He stopped typing, picked up a needle and slid it into his arm. I must have hissed in discomfort just from watching because he looked up quickly.

"Dr. Banner, I'm sorry for disrupting you." I said looking down quickly. "I brought you some food, if you don't need anything else I'll be going-"

"Minnie wait, I could use your help." he said and I looked up at him. "Can you come over here?" I put the tray down on the desk and walked over to him.

"How can I help?" I asked and he nodded to his arm.

"Just hold the needle in place. You're not scared of blood are you?"

"No, I'm fine. Just needles freak me out a little." I admitted with a small smile. "I can handle this though." I said and I took the needle, my fingers brushing his as I held it in place.

"Good, now, take that vial." I looked at the table and noticed a small medical looking vial with an orange cap. "Attach the end to that part there." he instructed me. I did as he said and watched as it started to fill up with blood.

"Tell me when." I said and he nodded.

"Just a little more." he replied. I nodded, and looked up at him, he was watching me intensely. I smiled lightly and he smiled. "Can you take the tourniquet off?" he asked and I looked at the large rubber strip that was tied around his arm. I reached forward and pulled it off, then remembering what the doctors always did when I was getting blood drawn I reached down, and ran my fingers along his fist.

"Relax," I said softly. "You're fine. Just breathe." He smiled and did as I said, relaxing his hand. I realized he was lightly holding my hand, I hadn't moved it from his hand, and he looked down at the vial.

"That's good, you're doing really good. Who knows, you could have a career in nursing." he said. I laughed, and I looked down and he nodded. "Take it off." he said, so I reluctantly took my hand from his and pulled the vial off. I put it where he instructed me to, and picked up a cotton ball. "Take the needle out- slowly." he said and I bit my lip with worry.

"I- I don't think-"

"You're fine." he said. "You've got this."

"If I faint-"

"I'm a doctor, you'll be fine." he reassured me. Now normally I wouldn't be so quick to believe a doctor about something like this, but with him... I sighed, and slowly pulled the needle out of his arm, my stomach churning slightly as I did. I pressed the cotton ball over where the needle had been and taped it down. "You did great." he said and looked back at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah fine." I said as I stared at the needle.

"Here, give me the needle." he moved closer to me. "Careful, don't get my blood on you." I made a face when he said that and he smiled as he took the needle, and disinfected it. "You look a little pale, you sure you're okay?"

"That's a really big needle." I said, my eyes not leaving it. He looked at me before he quickly threw the needle away and washed his hands off.

"Come on, sit down." he said as he led me over to the chair. I sat down and let out a small laugh.

"Wow, sorry, I was okay until I actually saw it." I said with a small smile.

"No no, you did fine." he said. "If I had known you were this scared of needles I never would have asked you." he said and I shook my head.

"No better way to get rid of fears then to face them right?" I asked with a smile. He nodded, and sat down in the chair across from me.

"You feeling any better?" he asked and I nodded. "Good." he said and took his glasses off. He was cleaning them on his shirt when he looked up at me. I smiled lightly at him and he sighed. "I'm sorry." he said softly.

"What about?" I asked.

"The other day, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Trust me," I said as I leaned forward and touched his hand. "When I'm uncomfortable, you'll know." He turned his hand over and held mine for a moment before he quickly moved it away. "What? What's wrong?" I asked as he quickly checked his pulse, looking at his wristwatch.

"Nothing." he muttered. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah." he quickly. "Trust me, when I'm not okay, you'll know." he smiled.

"Look, um, I don't want things to be awkward." I said to him with a small smile. "So, about the other day, I wasn't uncomfortable. I think we spend too much time apologizing."

"That's true." he nodded.

"So let's just leave it at we got caught up in the moment, huh?" I asked and he smiled.

"That sounds good to me." he said and I smiled.

"Good." I said as I stood up. "I'd better get back to work. Tony doesn't pay me to flirt with you, you know." I lightly tousled his hair making him give me a playfully aggravated smile.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hey guys, sorry about the wait for this one, my laptop charger broke and I had to order a new one. Worst part was, it broke right when I finished writing this chapter. Well, I hope you survived the wait. This is the chapter I like to call the setup. Setup for what? You'll find out soon enough! _**

**_Disclaimer: I own Dallas (the sneak), and Minnie (You're going to love this)._**

* * *

"You are such a bitch, you know that?" Dallas asked as he helped me do my hair. Tonight was the night of Tony's big party, and Dallas was my date, mostly because he couldn't get in any other way.

"And pray tell, how am I a bitch this time?"

"You're leaving me next week to go to New Orleans of all places! It's going to be hotter than hell down there, you know that right?" he asked and I smiled as I looked up at him.

"Just think of it as my karma." I smiled.

"You had best believe I will." he muttered as he finished doing my makeup. "There, finished." There was a knock on my door and we both looked at each other. "Answer it."

"Why would I do that?" I gestured to the fact that I was only wearing a bra and my underwear.

"Maybe it's that sexy College Professor come to screw you senseless."

"Yeah, for some reason, I highly doubt that." I said as I pulled on a white silk bathrobe I had bought last time I went to Japan with Tony. "Hi." I said to the teenager standing behind the door.

"Some guy gave me fifty bucks to bring this to you." the kid said as he handed me a dress bag. "What is it?"

"Dunno." the kid said as he walked away.

"Thanks!" I called after him. He just put a fist in the air as he listened to his music I could hear all the way down the hall.

"What's this?" Dallas asked as I brought the dress bag back into the bedroom.

"No idea, some kids said some guy paid him fifty bucks to bring it here."

"Oooo, it's from Dr Banner!" Dallas squealed.

"Okay, seriously, will you drop it?" I asked.

"Never!" he vowed and I rolled my eyes before I hung the bag on the back of my door and unzipped it. "Ho-lee shit." Dallas breathed.

"What is that?" I asked.

"That, is a dress."

"That's... That. It's-"

"Perfect." he breathed. "It's perfect, oh my god, try it on, try it on!" he squealed.

"How do I even know it's for me?"

"Oh, a note!" he pulled a note out of the bottom of the bag.

"How did you even-"

"Never doubt me." he said, before he pulled the dress out of the bag. "It's for you."

"How do you-" he held the paper up, it simply said Minnie.

"It's for you!" he jumped up and down until I grabbed his arm.

"Will you cut that shit out, I have neighbors downstairs you know!" I said and he giggled before throwing the dress at me. "I can't wear this; I could very well be arrested."

"Arrested in the pursuit of a boyfriend!" he said and I rolled my eyes. "Now put it on!" he demanded. I sighed, and took off my robe before I started to pull on the dress.

"There's no back!" I said in realization. "How can I wear a dress with no back?"

"Easy, like this." he said as he walked behind me and unclipped my bra. "I love doing that."

"Perv." I muttered as I slipped the bra off. I threw it at him as he watched me pull the dress on. It was tight. So tight I had to go into the sexy panty drawer and wear a pair of very small panties I swore I would get rid of years ago so I wouldn't have a visible panty line. I zipped up the back as far as it would go and Dallas went behind me and clipped part of it.

"You look amazing!" he said and I stared at myself in the mirror.

"Holy shit." I whispered.

"Shoes!" he said and went to the closet quickly. I stood there, turning around in front of the mirror.

It was a beautiful green color and was tight down to my knees, then loosened up a little. The straps were green ribbon that went from under my bust, over my shoulders, and to my back, where it met a cut out diamond showing off my back. Green satin ribbon lined the diamond and had about an inch thick line of satin ribbon around my waist. The straps were covered in gold beaded flowers. It fit like a glove. I ran my hands over it and then looked up as Dallas came prancing over holding a pair of black strappy heels. I put them on and stood up. It was perfect. He quickly pulled on the jacket to his tux and offered me his arm. "Are you ready for the ball m'lady?"

"Indeed I am kind sir." I said in a fake English accent. We both laughed at our cheesiness before we went downstairs where a car was waiting. When we got to the hotel hosting the party I detached myself from Dallas and looked in a mirrored wall quickly. He walked over and I looked up at him. "You sure I look okay?" I asked and he smiled.

"Of course! I told him this would look great on you." he said and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?" I asked and he grinned as he took my hand and dragged me into the party.

"Oh my god." Pepper said when I walked into the ballroom. "It looks great!"

"What?" I asked. "You were in on this?"

"What- I-" She looked at Dallas. "I thought you two said she knew!"

"Oh please, would she really have the balls to buy a dress like that?" Dallas grinned, and then looked at me. "Mr. Stark decided you needed an appropriate dress for this evening."

"An appropriate dress? This is no not appropriate!"

"You look great in it though." Pepper said. "And it totally matches your makeup, did you do that?"

"That would be me!" Dallas said. "I keep saying I should do the makeup at the adorable Tabitha's wedding, that I have tons of ways to make hair not frizz, but does anyone listen to me? _Nooo_." he shook his head.

"Oh fine Dallas, you can come." I sighed and he grinned.

"Yes!" he said and fist pumped. I rolled my eyes and found myself scanning the room. I had been there all day beforehand making sure everything was set up and looked alright, and I had to admit, it all looked good. "He's getting a drink." Dallas said in my ear.

"Who's getting a drink?" I asked as my eyes moved to the bar.

Oh. That's who. Man if I thought Dr. Banner was cute before, it was nothing compared to him in a tux. I let out a low breath and Dallas grinned before 'subtly' pushing me forward. I stumbled slightly and turned and glared at him and he gave me an adorable grin before he waved his fingers and ran off to flirt with Happy who always looked uncomfortable when Dallas was around.

"I know you know techniques for keeping anger under control, do you have any for keeping an over excited gay man under control?" I asked and Dr. Banner turned around. His eyes scanned my entire body and I bit my lip uncertainly before he cleared his throat.

"You look amazing." he said and I smiled.

"You look pretty nice yourself." I said, and then reached forward to straighten his tie.

"I could never get them to stay straight." he admitted with a bashful grin.

"Hey you two." Tony walked over with Pepper on his arm. "Come on, we're seating now." he said. "You two are at my table." he nodded us over to the table; I paused as we walked and Bruce stopped walking, to wait for me.

"Everything okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, just, thinking." I nodded.

"About?"

"About how I hope you'll save me a dance." I smiled, I don't know what it was, the fact that we weren't in the lab, the fact that Dallas was my date, or the dress.

It was probably the dress.

The dress was making me say crazy things! Either way...

"Only if you save me one too." Bruce said and then offered me his arm. I smiled as I slipped mine through his and we walked to the table. Dallas was grinning like a fool, Tony was smirking, and even Pepper looked a little triumphant. But I hardly noticed, all I was paying attention to was the man who was pulling the chair out for me and sitting down next to me.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Okay ya'll, this is the big chapter, it's the longest chapter I've written, and that's because I just couldn't break it up. This is the payoff, and I hope I didn't get too OOC. Also, I posted a link to a picture of Minnie's dress on my profile. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!_ **

* * *

A few hours later, after dinner the band was playing, people were talking, speeches had been made, and most of all, everyone was drinking.

"Your vodka cranberry." Dallas said as he handed me a drink.

"Mm, thank you." I said and took it from him. I sipped my second drink and he stood there next to me for a moment, watching as Pepper and Tony danced.

"So where's your boyfriend?"

"You're standing right next to me."

"Oh honey, as much as I love you, I'll never love you like that." he shook his head.

"Oh darn, and here I thought I stood a chance." I snapped my fingers.

"Sorry, but you know who would be a good replacement?"

"Who?"

"Dr. Banter."

"It's Banner." I corrected him and he nodded.

"Yeah, he's right over there and closing in fast." Dallas said and smiled. "Right here love bug!" he called and I hit his arm.

"Dallas, you wonder why I don't date?" I hissed and he grinned as Dr. Banner walked over.

"Oookay, well, I'm going to go find my life partner, I know he's in here somewhere, you two have fun." he winked at me and I smiled as he walked away.

"I'm sorry, he hit his head when he was young." I said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, and hasn't stopped hitting it since then. He's damaged." I nodded and he chuckled.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked after a moments pause.

"Yes." I looked at him and he smiled. I laughed lightly and put my drink down. "Way to be discreet Minnie." I muttered to myself. We stepped out to the dance floor and he put one hand on my waist, and took the other in his. I smiled as we danced, this was too much.

"I like your dress." he said softly.

"Thank you, it uh, it was a gift." I said. I felt his hand move from my waist slightly until his fingers lightly brushed the bare skin on my back as he pulled me closer to him. I took in an involuntary breath and looked up at him. He acted like he wasn't doing anything, but his lips were curling slightly. "Do you do this with every girl you dance with Dr. Banner?" I asked and his smiled widened slightly.

"Only the ones who wear a dress like this." he said softly. I smiled as he ran his thumb down my spine. I gasped softly and moved in closer to him, my body brushed up against his. He seemed to tense up slightly at the contact, but then relaxed. I was about to say something when his eyes left mine and he frowned lightly. "Is that... Roxy Jameson?"

"What?" I asked and turned around to see Roxy Jameson, the Senator's daughter walking through the door. "Oh boy." I muttered when she stumbled slightly and one of the security guys caught her. "Excuse me Bruce." I said and walked over. "Roxy, how was your party?"

"Boring." she scoffed, I could smell the alcohol from three feet away. "And the food sucked, Daddy only wanted to have a party tonight because he wanted to one up Tony." she sighed. "Can I have a drink please?" she asked a waiter. He looked at me and I shook my head.

"Sorry sweetie, I think you've had enough." I said softly, trying to take care of the matter as discreetly as possible. I saw Dallas walking casually over to me, my clutch stuck under his arm. He handed me my phone and helped me lead Roxy out of the ballroom, to the hallway. "Go tell Pepper what's going on." I said softly to Dallas who nodded. He rushed back to the ballroom while I dialed a number.

"Who are you- Are you calling Tony?" she asked as she leaned on the wall.

"No sweetheart, I'm calling your Daddy."

"I don't wanna talk to him, he's boring!" she said loudly. She looked behind me and grinned flirtily. Well, drunkly, but what I'm sure she assumed it was flirtily. "Hey baby. Wanna have fun?" she asked as she walked towards whoever was approaching us. I turned around as she wrapped her arms around Bruce's neck and pressed herself against him. "Do you wanna dance with me?"

"Ignore her, she's drunk and has daddy issues." I said as he took her arms from around him.

"I think you've had enough fun." he said.

"_Hello_?"

"Hi, Senator Jameson please. This is Ms. Strong from Stark Industries."

"_Is this important Ms. Strong_?"

"It's very important."

"_What is this regarding_?"

"It's regarding his daughter."

"_One moment please_."

"They put me on hold." I whispered to Bruce who nodded.

"Hello Ms. Strong, calling to ask to join the party?"

"Oh hello Senator, actually, no, I'm just seeing how the caterer worked out for you."

"Ah, well they worked out just fine sweetheart, and I truly do recommend them. Say, did you find a caterer on such short notice?"

"Actually I did. Funny story too, turns out Louise Parker from the New York times is here, from the Society pages, she's dying to do a piece on Mr. Adair and his marvelous crab cakes, he does those mini ones Mr. Stark likes and the rest of the food was just marvelous. Oh, hey, how is Roxy enjoying the party?"

"Oh she's just having a real ball." he said with a laugh. "I, uh- I can see her dancing with the DA's son, and I'd really hate to break those two up, but I can tell her you said Happy Birthday." he said.

"Oh I'd love that, oh, uh, Senator, I have someone here who'd like to say hi." I handed the phone to Roxy who took it with a small scowl, then held it to her ear.

"Hi Daddy!" she slurred, stepping away from Bruce. I sighed as I stood next to him.

"What's going to happen with her?"

"Oh, I'll probably end up taking her back to her party." I shrugged. "I'd just put her in a cab, but knowing her, she'd go to a club, hook up with a guy and the Senator would call me at five in the morning demanding to know why he hasn't seen hide nor hair of his daughter." I said.

"I take it this has happened before."

"You've got no idea." I shook my head. She walked back over and handed me the phone with a pout. "Hello Senator."

"Now listen here Ms. Strong-"

"Actually Senator, I think it's your turn to listen." I said quickly. "I know the next thing to come out of your mouth will be a request- no actually, a demand that I bring her back to you safe and sound, which I will, even though at this point in the game I have no obligation to do so. I'll do you that favor. And in return for doing so, you're going to do a favor for me. Remember those very charming comments you made about Mr. Stark and the Avengers?" I asked. "Those are going to be retracted."

"Now listen here Ms. Strong."

"It's a fairly cheap price to pay to ensure your daughter has a babysitter while she gets back to you safely, otherwise I can put her in a cab and let the cabbie take her wherever she wants to go." I said. He was silent. "Do we have a deal Senator?"

"God damn it."

"I'll see you in half an hour Senator." I said with a triumphant smile. I hung up the phone and put it into my clutch, before I took Roxy by the arm, supporting her as she walked. "Come on Roxy, time to go see your daddy."

"But he's so boooring!" she whined.

"I know, they usually are." I said as I helped her along the hallway.

"Here, let me help." Bruce said as he walked on the other side of Roxy. He wrapped his arm around her waist and supported her as she walked. I went ahead of them to the elevator and hit the button, the doors opened and we walked in.

"Bruce, you don't have to leave the party, I can handle her on my own." I said and he looked over at me.

"I don't mind." he said and I smiled lightly. We got downstairs and I hailed a cab, we got her into the back and I looked at him.

"So, goodnight?" I asked looking up at him. He looked into the back of the cab and then back to me.

"You might still need help with her." he said and smiled. I smiled at him, and nodded.

"Okay." I said and slid into the cab, Roxy sat in the middle so Bruce walked around to the other side and got into the car. I told the driver where to go. When we got there the Senator's assistant paid the driver while Bruce and I coaxed her out of the back of the cab. We took her up the stairs to the doorway where the Senator and a few other people were waiting. "I believe this belongs to you." I said. He sighed and I stuck my hand out. "Have a good night Senator." I said. He shook my hand and I looked back at Bruce. I walked over to him and smiled.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Well, uh, the party is pretty much over..." I said as I looked at the texts Dallas and Pepper had sent me. "I can get a cab to drive you home?" I asked.

"And what about you?"

"Well I actually don't live too far from here." I said as I looked at the street signs. "I can walk it from here."

"Can I walk you?" he asked and I looked up at him, I smiled lightly and nodded.

"If you want to." I said as I looked into his dark eyes. He smiled and I pointed in the direction of my apartment building. "That way." I said. We started to walk, about a block away there was a group of people outside of a club, smoking or talking and waiting.

"Hey Baby, nice dress!" one guy shouted at me. "Why don't you lose the rest of it on my floor?"

"Do those shitty pickup lines work... Ever?" I asked him and he smirked.

"You tell me sweetheart." he said, stepping closer to me. I felt Bruce slip his hand into mine, and pull me away. "Aw come on, don't you just leave me like that!" he called as we walked away. We got a little ways down the street before Bruce took his suit jacket off and handed it to me.

"What's this for?"

"To avoid another scene like that." he nodded his head toward the club.

"Thanks." I smiled. I slipped it on, and we started to walk again, his jacket smelled like him making my heart race.

"So does that happen often?"

"What, with Roxy?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, every now and then." I shrugged. "She's barely twenty two, she hates her parents, she's trying to break free, and she sees Tony as this sort of twisted role model really." I shook my head. "I've warned him about it, so he knows."

"Right." he said and then smiled lightly. "Tony as a role model."

"I know right." I laughed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Tony, and some of the things he does are great, Iron Man, stopping Stark Industries from developing weapons, his breakthroughs in green energy. But I don't think should be someone to look up to when it comes to how... Eccentric he can be."

"Yeah." he agreed.

"What kind of work are you doing?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The work you've been doing, what are you doing?" I paused. "Can I ask?"

"Uh, it's a type of genetic experiment..." he said after a small pause.

"Oh, the blood." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah, that." he nodded. "You sure you're not traumatized by that?" he asked and I smiled.

"I work for Tony Stark, and I have three siblings. It takes a lot more than that to traumatize me."

"I'll keep that in mind." he said and I laughed.

* * *

I don't know when it happened exactly, but by the time we got to my apartment building he and I were hold hand, our fingers lightly laced together.

"Well, this is me." I said as I looked up at my building. "I had a nice time tonight."

"So did I." he smiled.

"Even with everything that happened with Roxy?" I asked and he nodded.

"Even with that." he said and I smiled with a small flush across my cheeks.

He lightly ran his thumb across my cheekbone, before cupping my face. I bit my bottom lip lightly as I met his gaze, then leaned forward and allowed him to catch my lips between his. I felt his other hand wrap around my waist, put his hand right against my back and pull me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and ran my fingers on my right hand through his hair. When we broke apart I smiled as I looked up at him.

"I should go..." I said before I leaned in and lightly pecked his lips again.

"Me too." he said, doing the same.

"Good night." I said softly, my lips lightly brushed his again. He tightened his grip around my waist for a moment, before he lightly let go.

I moved away from him and went to my door, the doorman held the door open for me as I looked back at Bruce. I smiled and waved before I walked inside.

I can proudly say, I waited until I was safe inside the elevator before I let out the loud squeal I had been holding in.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hey guys, here's the next chapter, it gets a little tense, but it all smooths out. Next chapter will have... Dun dun dun- Captain America! That's right! Okay, well I hope you enjoy this chapter. Bruce and Minnie kiss again. =)**_

_**Disclaimer, I own Minnie.** _

* * *

I don't know why but I had been afraid of the next time I saw him being awkward. It was anything but. I was in Tony's kitchen, talking to my travel agent. "So, my layover is in Memphis?" I paused to listen to her chatter on, and wrote it down. "Okay, thanks so much. Bye." I hung up and wrote down a few things before I turned and started to type on my open laptop, writing an email to my little sister. I looked up when I heard footsteps, and smiled lightly seeing Bruce walk in, his hair was a mess, he was wearing pyjama pants and a tee shirt and he was rubbing his face.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It is currently 9:15am Dr. Banner." Jarvis replied.

"What time did you fall asleep?" I asked as I poured him a cup of coffee.

"Sleep, what's that?" he asked and I laughed as I walked over to him and set it down. He gently took my hand and ran his thumb along the back of it, even tired he was unbelievably gentle, and almost shy about showing affection. What had happened the other night, it surprised me.

"Hey?" I jumped and turned around seeing my sister's face on my laptop.

"Hey." I said as I walked over to the computer. "What's up?"

"You didn't put what time you're landing in New Orleans."

"Uh, I'll be there around three." I said. "I've got a two hour layover in Memphis."

"Oh will you see Steve there?"

"Yeah, we're going to get lunch." I nodded.

"Can he do that?"

"Oh come on, him?" I asked and she laughed. "True, true. So you picked up the dress right?"

"Yeah, what's the deal with shoes?" I asked. "You never said.

"Oh god, Antonia wants to wear these hideous purple stilts with like gold studs on them, they're so bad!"

"That sounds disturbing." I muttered.

"Just do something cute, preferably blue, but if you have to, white is fine."

"Understood." I nodded. "I'm sure Dallas will know where to get something."

"If he doesn't, then that's a first." she said and I laughed.

"No kidding."

"_Soo..._"

"Oh god what happened?"

"Well Gwen may or may not have invited someone I really don't want at my wedding." She said referring to Chaz's mother.

"Who?" I asked and she sighed.

"Simon." she said and my face fell. "I am so so _so _sorry! You know how she is, she's even paying for his ticket down there, I tried to tell her I don't want him there-"

"Just... Is he," I glanced back at Bruce who was scrawling something out with his eyes half closed. "Is he still using?" I asked softly.

"Everyone says he isn't, but I don't know." she said.

"Look, just keep him away from me, and everything will be okay." I said.

"Hi there Tiffy." Tony said as he walked in.

"It's _Tabby_." she replied.

"Meow." he smirked. He poured himself some more coffee and looked at Bruce who was resting his chin on the palm of his hand, looking close to being asleep. He walked over and smacked his shoulder, jolting Bruce out of his near sleep. "Oh, I'm sorry, does that make you _angry_?" he asked and Bruce took his glasses off. I was about to say something when the gate bell rang.

"I believe those are the packages you ordered sir." Jarvis said.

"Minnie, will you go get those." I looked hesitantly at my computer where Tabby raised her eyebrows. "Go on, I'll keep kitten occupied." he grinned. I sighed, and then rang the FedEx guy into the yard. I walked outside as he pulled up, signed for the packages and had them brought into the living room before he left. I quickly went back to the kitchen where Tony was leaning on the counter in front of the computer screen.

"Yeah, but New Orleans, what does that have to offer but mosquitoes and a bad hair day?"

"They're called hairstylists Mr. Stark, something you should consider seeing some time." I couldn't help but laugh, Tabby had been so pleased when Chaz agreed to New Orleans, and then with a little bit of name dropping from me I was able to help them book Oak Alley Plantation as the place they would have their wedding and reception.

"So, who's your plus one?"

"Dallas." I said. "He made a very convincing argument."

"Oh, I'd love to hear that."

"Yeah, in his words, _'bitch, you know that hair belongs to me, and anyone else who even thinks about touching it will face the consequences'_." I said making her laugh. "Besides, due to recent development regarding people best left unmentioned, I don't think I could handle it without him there." I sighed.

"Hey do you mean that junkie you married?" Tony asked and I looked at him quickly.

"We- I- I never _married _him okay, we were just engaged!"

"Uh huh." he said and I looked at Bruce who was looking at me curiously.

"Uh, hey Tabby, I have to go. Say hi to everyone."

"Sonny's here, he wants to say hi-"

"Can't, super busy, love you, bye." I said before I turned off the program. I sighed, and looked back at Tony. "And you wonder why I never tell you things." I said as I closed my computer and walked past him quickly.

"Hey, did we get that painting?" he called after me.

"It's in the living room!" I shouted back. I walked outside, ready to go do some work from my office at Stark Towers when the door opened behind me. Tony ran out in front of me and picked me up by my legs, throwing me over his shoulder. "_Tony_!" I shrieked at him as he carried me back inside. He usually only did this when he knew I was pissed.

"It's fine, it's fine, I got her!" he called as he carried me back to the kitchen. I sighed impatiently as he put me down and then smiled at Bruce. "She's fine." I hit his chest, making sure to avoid hitting the arc reactor.

"You okay?" Bruce asked.

"Fine." I said as I glared at Tony.

"Sir, Ms. Potts is on the line for you." Jarvis said suddenly. Tony looked up and sighed.

"Did you call her just to get me out of the room?"

"Why on earth would I do that sir?" Jarvis asked and I smiled as Tony walked out.

"Jarvis, have I ever told you you're my favorite AI." I smiled.

"Not that I imagine you've met many, but thank you Ms. Strong." Jarvis said and I laughed lightly before looking at Bruce who looked very awake suddenly.

"Tony doesn't know how to keep out of other people's business." I sighed.

"You don't have to talk about it." Bruce said quickly.

"No, it's fine, it's not much of a story, I was engaged to be married, I had known him since High School, I cancelled the wedding when he lost his job and started using." I said easily. "It's not something I particularly care to talk about." I explained.

"I understand." he said.

"And Tony knows that, he just, I don't know, he doesn't believe in keeping things secret, which is stupid, because did he tell us when he was dying that one time? No. He kept it a secret, but he likes to know every little thing about everyone, and then pretend like anything is a fair topic of conversation." I said quickly, and sighed. "I'm so sorry Bruce." I said and he held his hand out to me. I walked over and put mine in his allowing him to pull me closer.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I just, I'm laying all this stuff out there, and I'm sure it's just making you want to back away screaming, which I don't blame you because I mean we only kissed that one time and this isn't-" I was cut off by him standing up and kissing me. When he finally pulled away I looked up at him.

"Now we've kissed twice." he said. "Better?" I laughed lightly, and rested my head on his shoulder. "Look, I understand everyone comes with some baggage, I mean, I'm a scientist who's lived in third world countries for the better part of the past decade, I never know how long I'll be in one place, I have very little to my name, SHIELD is always on my ass, and my closest friend is a textbook narcissist." he said with a small shrug. "Scared yet?"

"No." I said and he smiled.

"Let's see, you have an ex fiancé who you broke up with because he became a user. You did the right thing leaving him. Now you have... Dallas." he paused. "Actually, I'm a little scared now." I smiled and hit his shoulder making him laugh. "Feel any better?" I sighed, then wrapped my arms around him and nodded into his chest.

"Hey, believe it or not, I don't actually pay you to flirt with him." Tony called as he walked by the room. "Rhodey keeps calling about me doing some presentation of the new suit, can you call him back and tell him no way, not after last time he decided to do a 'presentation'." he called. "Thank you." I sighed and then pulled away from Bruce with a smile.

"I'm gonna go get dressed." he said and I laughed realizing he was still in his pyjamas.

"I'm going to go call Rhodey." I said as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number.


	13. Chapter 13

**_Hi guys, as Radwoman pointed out, I've updated a lot tonight, but honestly, I like getting them out as I write them, that way you guys get to read them faster, and I don't forget about updating. I hope the fact that I write them so quickly doesn't impede the story or make it any less then what you all expect from me. I do hope ya'll are still liking the story, there's no Dr. Banner in this one, but there is some Captain America! Yaay! _**

**_Disclaimer: I only own the traveling duo of Dallas and Minnie._ **

* * *

Touching down in Memphis I found myself staring out the window. My hair was up in a ponytail, I subconsciously ran my fingers along my new highlights.

_Put some of them here," Dallas was saying to my hair stylist as he ran his hand up my neck, and along the area behind my ear. "It'll surprise that boyfriend of yours, and he'll love it." _

_"He's not my boyfriend, he's just this guy that I kiss occasionally." I said as I blushed. _

_"Girl please, like I didn't see that book you bought on physics. You're so into the man. But, hey it's cool, he's into you too. Maybe if he wasn't so damn slow about it you could tell me what he's really like though." _

_"I hate you so much right now." I sighed. _

"Bitch, stop messing with your hair." Dallas shoved my hand away from my hair making me glare at him. I laughed as I grabbed my carryon bag, and we waited for people to get out of the plane.

I hate waiting for people to get off of a plane, it's always so awkward and you never know when it's your turn. Like when you were a kid on the school bus. When we did get out of the plane and walk into the terminal I smiled seeing Steve Rogers standing there waiting. "Tell me he's straight, just do it."

"Straight as they come." I said and Dallas nodded.

"Right, thanks, I needed that." he said and I laughed before I walked over to the tall man.

"Captain Rogers, how are you?" I asked as I gave him a hug.

"It's good to see you again ma'am." he said and looked at Dallas curiously. "Is this your husband?"

"Oh, no, I'm her stylist." Dallas grinned. "Besides, she's seeing that adorable Bruce, and-"

"You're babbling." I looked at Dallas who smiled innocently and shut up.

"Bruce?" Steve asked with a frown. "Bruce Banner?"

"It's nothing," I sighed. "I mean, I don't know what it is. I enjoy his company." I nodded. "But speaking of enjoying things, how do you like Tennessee?" I asked as we walked together, Dallas was furiously texting someone behind us, but trailing along.

"Oh it's pretty amazing." he smiled. "I really enjoyed that music you showed me, it's amazing to hear how far music has progressed, though, I have to admit, I don't care too much for this newer stuff."

"I completely understand, I generally feel the same way, but there are some artists I do like." I said as we walked. "I don't think Dallas and I can leave the airport, so can we just get lunch somewhere here? I know it's not exactly the nicest place, but we did touch down a little late, and time is of the essence." I sighed.

"Of course." he said. We ended up at a burger place, somewhere pretty generic, but I had to admit, for airport food, it was pretty good. Plus Steve was pretty much the All American, burger and fries kind of guy.

"So, tell me what you've been up to." I said and he smiled, telling us all about different people and places he had been to. Being Captain America SHIELD had this pass made up for him allowing him to get into any and every museum for life, and seeing as how the guy survived in a huge bank of ice for seventy years, there was no telling when that card would expire. He seemed to like them, some of them took him back to his time, some of them took him before his time and some of them gave him a small glimpse of what he missed out on.

I gave him a few more CD's I had burnt for him, I found the CD player with him was a good way to go, I had given him an old running man CD player of mine, and taught him how to use that. It was simple, and I didn't have to worry about teaching him about the iPod quite yet. He walked us to our terminal and shook Dallas' hand, saying it was nice to meet him before Dallas gave him a large hug. Steve gave him a semi awkward smile and looked at me curiously as Dallas pranced off.

"He seems kinda... khaki wacky..." he said and I nodded slowly. "Uh..." a blush rose on his cheeks. "Boy crazy."

"Yeah." I nodded and he cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't worry, you're not his type." I smiled and he nodded slowly.

"I guess I still have a lot to learn." he smiled and I nodded.

"Yeah, but you've got time." I said. "Next time you're in New York, let me know."

"I will ma'am." he said and I chuckled.

"You can call me Minnie." I said, and gave him a hug. "I'll write you."

"I know you will, Minnie." he said and I patted his arm before I walked over to Dallas as he handed our tickets to the woman letting us board the plane. I turned and waved to Steve. "Have a safe flight." he called and I gave him a thumbs up before we went down the hallway to the plane.

"Jesus, that boy is all kinds of backwards."

"He is not, he's just... Lost." I sighed as we found our seats. "I want the window."

"You know I was going to make you take it anyways." he said and I smiled. That was Dallas' one fear. Heights. We got settled in our seats, a girl of about sixteen sat next to Dallas, which he loved, they spend the entire flight talking about fashion and what shade of lipstick would look good on her, by the time we got off the plane she had an entire list of very specific cosmetics to look up.

"You ready?" I asked and he smiled as he linked his arm through mine.

"Honey, I am always ready." he said and I laughed. We rented a car at the airport, and drove to the hotel everyone was staying at, the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel. When we got there the valet got our baggage from the car and put it on one of those trolleys and the bell hop led us inside.

"Yeah, we're checking in for the Strong/Cooper wedding." I said to the woman behind the desk

"Name please?" the attractive young girl asked.

"Simone Strong."

"Okay, I see you have a suite with one queen sized bed-"

"I'm sorry, it's supposed to be two beds."

"I have it down here as one." she shook her head.

"Oh come on lover, like we haven't shared a bed before." Dallas kissed my cheek and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"If you do that thing where you put your leg around my waist, I'll banish you to the couch." I grumbled and he laughed. We got our key cards, I filled out the paperwork that I needed to and we went upstairs to our room.

As we unpacked I hung the dress in the closet and stuck the shoe box on the shelf. Dallas had helped me find these amazing blue silver heels that only had two inches of heel, a sparkled band over my toes and this blue silver ribbon that went around my foot on either side, wrapped around my ankle and had a pretty blue silver buckle. I put them on the shelf and hung his suit up and everything before I called Tabby to tell her we were there.

We agreed to go to dinner with everyone later, which gave us time to relax and clean up a bit.

First things first, I was ready for a nap, pronto.


	14. Chapter 14

_**This is a semi fluffy chapter, but really it's more the calm before the storm than anything. I hope ya'll like it. P.S. It's fun writing part of this story in New Orleans since I lived there when I was a kid. No more accent though. Not unless I'm tired, around my southern friends, or drunk. Then I sound like I never left. But, anyways, I own all of the Bridesmaids, the bride and Minnie (the maid of honor). I hope you enjoy them.** _

* * *

The next day Tabby, Abby (My older sister), Shealyse, Peggy, Cleo and I went tanning out by the pool. I had bought a purple two piece in New York and a white hat with a large brim. It made me smile when I saw it and since hats so rarely do that for me, I bought it. "Who'd've thunk it?" Shay asked in her usual bad grammar. "Tabby getting married. I mean, Abby, that was obvious."

"Puh-lease," I said. "Abby had been planning her wedding since she was seven."

"And Peggy, no surprise there. Little Stephen helped move that one along, didn't he?" Shay winked at Peggy who chuckled. "I mean, I love the little booger, but damn girl." she said and Peggy laughed.

"Just wait till you get pregnant, I'll bust your balls as hard as you've been busting mine."

"It's called the pill bitch." Shay said and I smiled. I'd have shook my head if I wasn't laying on my stomach, resting my face on my arms, letting the sun work on my back. I loved just relaxing like that. "Cleo, I'll admit, you surprised me too."

"Oh you know me." she said as she sipped the last of her daiquiri. "I live for the adventure."

"But Tabbs, you were one of us," she gestured to myself and her. "You didn't want to get married; you wanted to be single forever!"

"Excuse me; I never said I want to be single forever." I said as I lifted a hand. "I said if all men were like Simon I'd be single forever, because I wouldn't settle for anyone's shit."

"Yeah, besides, Sammy's dating a scientist now." Tabby said and I sat up.

"Oh, Sam, you should flip over now honey." Abby said, she was always the mother of the group. I did as she said, and put my sunglasses back on.

"So, what's he like?"

"I wouldn't say I'm dating him, I mean, we haven't gone on a real date yet-"

"So, what, you're fuck buddies?"

"No!" I said and laughed as my face turned red. "Jesus. We're just... I don't know, taking things slow, Tabby, how do you even know about him?"

"Tony told me about him last week when you went to deal with the UPS guy."

"FedEx." I muttered, then smiled at how used to work I was. "Ugh, I can't believe Tony did that- Actually, I can, then he freaking brought Simon up in front of him and I had to go into that with Bruce."

"Oooh, his name is Bruce." Cleo giggled.

"The plot thickens, what's he do?"

"He's a scientist." I said with a shrug, knowing I couldn't get into it about SHIELD, number one, I had no idea what Bruce did for them, and number two, national security and all that. "He works with Tony."

"You call your boss by his first name?" Abby asked.

"He calls her Minnie." Peggy pointed out.

"Yeah, I never understood that nickname, how'd you get it?"

"Tony gave it to me." I said, and gestured a waited over. "Can we get some more daiquiris?" I asked and the waiter nodded.

"Right away ma'am." he said and walked away.

"So when I was an intern I worked running coffee and stuff like that, well, I met Pepper Potts one day and she was freaking out, Tony had gotten sick in his office and wasn't doing too good so she asked me to help her, well, we went into the office and Tony freaked out thinking he was seeing double, it was the hair." I shrugged as I ran my fingers through my hair. "So the next day Tony asks Pepper who that second her was, and she told him, I found myself running more errands for them, and finally he asked to meet me, he started calling me Mini Pepper, or Mini Pep, things like that, he'd call me and ask for me specifically, so I'd do them for him, all that. Pretty soon he got tired of calling me Mini Pepper all the time, and I became Minnie." I shrugged, and smiled as the waiter came back with our drinks. "Thanks." I smiled taking a drink from the tray.

"Finally telling them about how you got your name huh?" a very familiar voice that I should not have been hearing said to my left. I set my drink down and looked before gasping.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in shock.

"I was invited." he said and held his arms out with a grin.

"Tony, this is supposed to be my vacation, Pepper said- Wait, where's Pepper?"

"Checking in, Dallas said you were out here so I thought I'd come see for myself." his eyes roamed my body and I quickly snatched up my towel and held it in front of me.

"You- I- But-" I sputtered, not sure where to start. I turned on Tabby who was grinning.

"Mr. Stark, I'm so glad you could make it." she said as she stood up and stuck her hand out. "It's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too Kitten." he said which made the rest of the girls stand up and start chattering to him. "Oh look, it's Bruce." he said and my eyes widened, my towel was yanked away from me by someone and I stared at them in shock as the girls all looked around for him. I sighed and turned, and couldn't stop myself from smiling when I saw him.

He was wearing a dark gray pants with a blue button down shirt tucked into them, his sleeves were rolled up and I noticed he hadn't buttoned his shirt up all the way, choosing to leave two buttons undone like he normally did. I sighed, and walked forward, they'd figure it out anyway.

"Hey." I smiled when I got to him.

"Hey, you look... Ready to swim." he said as he looked me over.

"If I don't kiss you right now, I'll never hear the end of it from any of them." I said nodding to the girls and Tony (who pretty much gossiped like any of the girls).

"Well we wouldn't want that would we?" he asked with a small smile before he leaned down and kissed me. I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, he held onto my hips, and finally we broke apart. The girls were cheering and I was blushing. "There, that's not so bad now was it?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Ask me again after you've met them all." I said and he laughed.

"You mean I have to go talk to them?"

"Oh come on." I said as I took his hand. He followed, and I stopped in front of the girls. "Okay, no crowding." I said to them, and then turned to Bruce. "Bruce," I put my hand on his arm. "This is Tabby, Cleo, Shelayse, Peggy and Abby. Tabby and Abby are my sisters. Peggy's my cousin, and Cleo is her cousin. Which makes us second cousins I think." I thought for a second, and then shrugged. "Girls, this is Bruce. My... Friend." I said after a moment.

I wasn't exactly sure what to call him, we had only been sort of seeing each other for what, a week and a half now? God this was way too soon for him to have to deal with my family, this was insane. I sighed as the girls all asked him questions or said how good it was to meet him before Tony stood up from the chair he was laying on.

"Pepper's waving very impatiently at us." he informed Bruce who turned around. She gestured and Tony sighed.

"I'll go." he said and walked over to her.

"I'm gonna go inside." I said to the girls who nodded, all of them eyeing either Bruce or Tony, talking and giggling to themselves. We walked inside and I looked at Bruce. "Are you sure you want to be here?" I asked him and he looked at me.

"Why do you ask? Would you prefer I wasn't?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No, no, nothing like that." I said quickly. "I just- I know my family, they can be a handful, and tiring, and-"

"Calm down," Bruce said as he stopped me and turned me so he was facing me. He took my shoulders and raised his eyebrows. "Take a few deep breaths." he said and I took a few deep breaths like he showed me how. "What's this really about?" he asked and I sighed looking up at him.

"Tony told everyone you're my boyfriend, I sighed. "And, I know we've only been together or whatever for like a week and a half, and I don't really expect you thought we were um- What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Together?"

"No, kind of, but no."

"Exclusive?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks." I said. "I don't want to scare you off, that's the thing, I really like you and yeah, Tony's been pushing us to get together, which I don't really understand- not that I don't understand why we would be together, just I don't understand why he would suddenly care about-" he had done it again.

Cutting me off by kissing me. It was a cliché move really, I had seen it in books and movies, but now when it was happening to me, I was so totally willing to just melt in his arms and forget words even existed. "Why are you so good at that?" I sighed and he smiled.

"What?" he asked as he stepped back.

"Calming me down." I said and he smiled.

"Does it bother you?"

"What?" I asked.

"What Tony told your family?"

"I know it should seeing as we've only been together for so little time, but it really doesn't." I sighed and he smiled.

"Then don't make such a big deal over it."

"You're a guy, you're the one who should be making a big deal about it." I said and he raised his eyebrows.

"Do you want me to make a big deal about it?" he asked and I shook my head quickly. He smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked to the elevator. "We don't have to label anything, not right now." he said as we stepped inside. "But if it makes your family feel better, putting a label on it, let them."

"What did I do to deserve you?" I asked as I looked up at him. He smiled and looked down at me.

"I was just wondering the same thing." he said.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Someone made a comment about imagining Bruce wanting to label things, well I imagined that too, I wrote this chapter last night but passed out before I could upload it. I won't be up all night updating tonight because I have a cupcake business and I'm baking for a friend's party (Two dozen red velvet cupcakes). All of my cupcakes are based on movies. I'm currently trying to figure out a cupcake for each of the Avengers. If Bruce were a cupcake what kind do you think he would be?** _

* * *

"Bruce?" Dallas half whispered, half shouted into the scientist's room. "Bruce?" he knocked on the door. "Bruuuuccccce!" the door swung open and Bruce looked at Dallas curiously, it was kind of obvious Dr. Banner had been getting ready for bed; he was wearing a baggy pair of string tie pyjama bottoms and a gray frumpy tee shirt. He had a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth and had just barely shoved his glasses back on when he opened the door.

"What?" he took the toothbrush out of his mouth.

"There's a creepy crawly in my room, I need to switch rooms."

"What?" he asked as if he wasn't sure he had heard what he had just heard.

"There's creepy crawlies, I didn't touch the bed or anything, oh except the hair dryer, pllleeeease! It's too late to call the hotel to have them come get it or I would."

"Why don't you just put it out on the balcony or something?" he asked.

"Well excuse me for not having enough time to catch a bug and integrate it back into the wild, but if there's one, there's bound to be more!"

"And you want me to sleep with the bugs instead?"

"Well yeah, you're a guy." Dallas shrugged. "You can handle that better than me."

"...Alright just, give me a second." Bruce said with a sigh as he turned back to the bathroom. It was kind of obvious he wasn't going to win this argument, and he knew Dallas wouldn't be coming to him for just anything- even if this request was slightly insane. He finished brushing his teeth, grabbed his shoes and slipped them on before he traded key cards with Dallas. He went to the elevator and took it down a floor, then went to the room, room 906. He opened the door and instantly saw why Dallas had been so insistent on him trading.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" I spun around; holding my towel tighter around my body if that was possible.

"Dallas." he said and I frowned.

"What about him- Did he pull the _'there's a creepy crawly in my room and where there's one, there's bound to be more_'?" I asked and he nodded dumbly as he forced himself to look at my face and not follow the line of water that was slowly dripping down my neck, across my collarbone and further down... Not that I noticed where his eyes were, I was too busy going to the dresser. "That meddling bitch." I muttered. "Well come in here shut the door; I don't want everyone to know what I look like in a towel.

"But you don't mind me knowing?" he blurted out. I paused and looked at him.

"I don't mind you knowing." I agreed. He smiled lightly, before he pointed to the bathroom.

"I'll be right back." he said and I nodded as I pulled on a pair of underpants.

"Hey Bruce, which room were you in?"

"1034." he called back. I went to the phone and dialed that room number.

"Cupid's hotline, this is Cupid, how may I help you?"

"I can't believe you did that."

"I can't believe he fell for it!" he laughed. "Did he catch you changing?"

"No, he caught me in a towel you psychotic perv."

"I only use my psycho perv powers for good." he sang. I laughed and shook my head. "Look, spend the night with him, sleep with him, or don't sleep with him, whatever. Just have a good night!" he said before hanging up.

"Bruce, is everything okay?" I called to the bathroom as I slipped on an oversized tee shirt and a pair of yoga pants that went to just under my knees.

"Fine." he opened the door. "Why wouldn't it be? Is Dallas on his way back?"

"No, he's gotten comfortable in your bed; he says he's not leaving." I sighed. He nodded and looked around semi awkwardly before he looked at me.

"I can take the couch." he said finally and I frowned.

"Bruce I think you're too tall for the couch." It had been designed for two people.

"I've slept in worse positions."

"Come on, we're both adults." I said as I walked forward and took his hand. "We can sleep in the same bed." I sighed.

"You sure you want to?" he asked and I looked at him. "People may think we're putting a label on this." I couldn't help it, my mouth dropped open and I stared at him.

"Where did _that_ come from?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow as I sat on the side of the bed. "Come sit with me." I said and he shuffled over, kicked off his shoes and sat down next to me so he was facing me. "That whole no labels thing that was your idea." I said and he nodded.

"Because you seemed to freak out over the idea of people calling me your boyfriend." he said.

"Because we've been together a week and a half, you're a guy, in my experience guys don't want to be anyone's boyfriend until they have no choice." I said and he stared at me for a moment.

"Then you have experience with the wrong kind of guys." he said and I nodded.

"Well and argument could be made for that, sure." I said, and then smiled. "Bruce, do you want me to be your girlfriend?" I asked and he smiled lightly. "Then you better take me on a real date." I said and kissed him quickly. "Tomorrow the entire wedding party is having brunch together. Tomorrow night we're free to do whatever we want. We can go then." I said and he nodded.

"Perfect." he said and I smiled.

"And tomorrow I'll introduce you to everyone as my boyfriend." I said and he smiled. "Why would you say all that stuff about not labeling when it's what you wanted?" I asked and he smiled as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.

"Because it's what you wanted."

"No," I said as I looked at him. "No, I just want you." I said as I leaned forward and kissed him again.

When I woke up the next morning I was curled up in Bruce's chest, his arms were around me and he was breathing deeply. I sighed and looked at the clock before I groaned and put my hand on his chest. "Bruce?" I said softly. "Bruce wake up."

"Hmmm?" he mumbled.

"Come on, wake up." I said before I leaned in and lightly kissed his neck. He shifted slightly when I did that and I smiled before I did it again, and again until I felt him tighten his grip around my waist. "I know you're awake." I smiled as I sat up and swung my leg over him so I was sitting on top of him.

"Prove it." he said and I smiled before I leaned down and kissed him longly. He ran his hands up my legs, and held onto my hips as we kissed, and finally I broke the kiss.

"Come on, we're going to be late." I said before I got off of him and ran to the bathroom. "Oh my god, my hair!" I said in horror and I heard him laugh. I plugged in my straightener and bruched my hair as I brushed my teeth and checked my clothes I laid out for today. "Go, go, what are you still doing here, go get ready!" I said when I noticed him standing in the doorway, watching me.

"Where should I meet you?"

"Downstairs, there's a banquet hall where they have this big buffet set up." I said. He left and five minutes later Dallas came in while I was straightening my hair.

"_Soooo_?" he asked.

"So what you little sneak?"

"Are the sheets safe to sit on or should I opt for the couch?"

"I didn't fuck him." I scowled.

"Oh come on, why not? It's been like forever!"

"Because we talked." I said. "And then made out a little bit, but no sex."

"Well what'd you talk about?" he asked as he took the straightener from me and started to straighten my hair.

"Remember that conversation I told you we had in the elevator about labeling things?"

"Yeah."

"Turns out, he totally does want to label things."

"Who _is_ that guy?"

"I have no idea, but I am so happy right now."

"Good, hold onto those happy vibes, you're gonna need them."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you'll never guess who I just ran into in the hall."

"How is he?"

"Strung out."

"Great." I sighed. Dallas finished straightening my hair and I applied a little makeup before I got dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a flowey white blouse. I grabbed a pair of black ballet flats and slipped them on before I stuck my phone and key card in my pocket. Dallas was putting the finishing touches on his hair, getting it styled right, then washed his hands and we went downstairs together.

"Oh boy." I sighed when I saw Tony and Pepper waiting outside of the banquet hall with Bruce.

"Sweetie," Dallas took my hand as the elevator slowed down. "He wants to label things and he isn't fazed by either me or your boss. Everything will be fine, people will love him. It doesn't hurt that he's a super genius scientist too." he shrugged and I smiled, the doors opened and we stepped out.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Okay guys, I've got a long one for you right now. I have to go make cupcakes and get everything ready for my job, so if I have time later I'll update again, if not, I'll update sometime tomorrow afternoon/evening. We're getting closer to the wedding, and I've got some Big plans for that. Not to, you know, make you antsy or anything =) **_

_**Basically, I don't own Pepper, Bruce or Tony. That's a little easier for this chapter.**_

* * *

"Morning Tony, Pepper." I smiled at them as I slipped my hand into Bruce's.

"I love your shirt." Pepper said as she looked at it. "So cute!"

"Bloomingdales." I sighed with a small smile. "Addict." I pointed to myself with a small laugh making her nod in understanding. "Should we go in?"

"Time to face the firing squad." Tony grinned and I rolled my eyes as I looked at Bruce.

"They're not that bad, just a little... Out there." I shrugged. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and I smiled before we walked in. Tony instantly found himself at the line for food, and Pepper went to go found somewhere to sit. She had met most of my family before so she was immediately recognized.

"Mon cher, bonjour!"

"Bonjour maman." I smiled at my mom as I let go of Bruce's hand and hugged my mother. I had gotten my red hair from my father, her hair was this beautiful shade of blonde I had always been jealous of when I was a child.

"Qu'est-ce ne sont pas que vous me dites?" _(What aren't you telling me?)_ she asked as she looked at Bruce over my shoulder.

"Eh bien, je ne vais pas vous dire qu'il sait ce que vous dites." _(Well I'm not telling you he knows what you're saying.)_ I said softly making her look at me for a moment before turning to Bruce and smiling. "Bruce," I said as I took his hand. "This is my mom, Cecile. Mom, this is my boyfriend, Bruce." I said and smiled up at him.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Strong." Bruce said as he shook my mother's hand.

"Call me Cecile." she said with a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you too." she turned and smiled as my dad walked over.

"Dad!" I grinned and let go of Bruce to throw my arms around my dad. He groaned and laughed as he caught me. I was always kind of a daddy's girl. I mean, I got along with both of my parents, but while Abby and Tabby were going shopping with mom, I was begging dad to show me how to change the oil in the car, just like he showed Sonny when we were kids.

"It's good to see you sweetheart, and look at that tan, here I was expecting you to be some little New York vampire." he said and I laughed. "I hope you wore sun block."

"Yeah." I nodded.

"And you reapplied."

"Twice."

"That's my girl."

"Daddy there's someone I want you to meet." I moved away from him to Bruce and took Bruce's hand. "Bruce, this is my dad, Nathan. Daddy, this is my boyfriend, Bruce." I said as I looked at Bruce with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you." Dad said as he shook Bruce's hand. "I'm not going to do that whole obligatory dad threatens new boyfriend crap, you look like you've got a good head on your shoulders, and I trust her judgment." he said as he looked at me.

"Uh, thanks." Bruce smiled. "It's good to meet you too."

"Is that Tony Stark?" my mom asked suddenly and I cleared my throat.

"Yeah, didn't you know he was coming?" I asked and she smiled.

"Well the more the merrier." she said and I laughed. "Honey, let's go get something to eat." she said as she linked her arm through mine. "Nate, you and Bruce go find a table."

"No problem." he said and I rolled my eyes and gave Bruce a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah that's not completely obvious." I said as we walked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." she said and I rolled my eyes.

"If we get back there and Dads completely freaked Bruce out, I'm gonna be pissed." I said. "Oh jeeze they have crepes." I said when I caught sight of my kryptonite. I grabbed a plate and had the guy make me some strawberry cheese crepes.

"So how old is he?"

"The guy making the crepes, I don't know, what twenty three? Twenty four?" I asked and the guy smiled.

"Twenty two."

"He's twenty two Mom." I said and she hit my arm. "Child abuse!"

"You're an adult, I can hit you all I want!"

"Damn." I muttered. "He's fourty four."

"I mean I'm not saying he's too old for you, but do you really like them that old?"

"I like Bruce."

"Honey, you don't... Like have daddy issues do you?"

"Mom!" I said in shock.

"Well I'm just asking, I mean-"

"Well don't ask again." I said, my face probably turning the colour of my strawberry covered crepes. "That's weird. On like every level."

"Well what would Freud say?"

"Oh please mom, don't start that intellectual psychoanalyst stuff." I sighed. "This is neither the time, nor the place."

"Honey I'm just curious."

"So ask me some normal questions like what does he do, how did you meet? Leave dad out of it, god." I scowled.

"You know if you keep making that face it'll get stuck like that." she said and I laughed. "So how did you two meet, and what does he do?"

"We met last year after the whole Aliens in New York thing," I said and she nodded. "And he's a scientist. He's a friend of Tony's, he works with him."

"Okay, was that so hard?" she asked and I shook my head as I walked over to the table dad had secured with Bruce, Tony and Pepper were also there, which made me smile at least Bruce hadn't gotten the third degree with Tony around.

"Hey there Red." Tony said, I must have still been blushing. Bruce got up quickly and pulled my chair out for me making me smile as I sat down. "So, Pepper here wants to take a swamp tour and see all the creepy crawlies, you guys up for it?"

"Did you just say creepy crawlies?" I asked and Tony grinned. I turned to Bruce. "What do you say; want to go see the creepy crawlies?" I asked. "Maybe we can shove Tony and Dallas off the boat."

"Sounds good to me." he said and I smiled.

"Hey, it's not like you don't like it." Tony said looking at Bruce. "I mean you haven't gotten angry or anything." he shrugged and Bruce stared at him for a moment before he stood up.

"I'm going to grab some food." he said and kissed the top of my head.

"Okay." I smiled as he walked away.

"Bruce, I'll go with you." my dad said and stood up.

After we had eaten I touched Bruce's arm lightly. He looked at me and I smiled. "Do you feel up to meeting some people?" I asked and he nodded.

"Sure." he said.

"Who are you taking him to meet?" Mom asked.

"MeeMaw, Chaz, Rick and some others." I said.

"Do you want me to come?"

"No." I said sternly. She laughed and I took Bruce's hand and lead him over to the table where Abby and her husband Rick were sitting with their four year old twins Mandie and Frankie.

"Morning Bruce." Abby smiled and he smiled back.

"Good morning Abby." he said.

"Bruce, this is my husband Rick, Rick, this is Bruce Banner, Sammy's boyfriend."

"Oh ace, nice to meet you." Rick grinned, speaking with his thick London accent. He stood up and shook Bruce's hand. "These are our kids, Mandie and Frankie." he said pointing to the kids.

"Auntie Sammie, Auntie Sammie!" Mandie said while Frankie signed to me.

"Hi guys." I signed as I spoke. Frankie had been born deaf, but that didn't stop him from babbling through sign language. "I missed you!"

"Did you bring us stuff from New York?" Mandie asked as Frankie did the sign for gifts.

"Maybe." I said and signed, then turned to Bruce. "This is Bruce," I spelled his name out for Frankie. "He's my friend."

"Are you Aunt Sammy's boyfriend?" Mandie asked and he nodded.

"I am."

"Do you bring her flowers?" she translated what her brother was signing.

"Uh- I haven't." he said and looked at me.

"Frankie says boyfriends are supposed to bring their girlfriends flowers, and that you'd better get on that." Mandie said making me laugh.

"I'll get right on that." he said and I signed to Frankie who laughed. To those of you who haven't heard a deaf person speak of laugh before, it's usually very monotone. Some deaf people won't even speak because they're not comfortable with their voices. Frankie was in speech therapy, but he didn't like to talk too often, because even at four he wasn't comfortable with his voice. I walked over and kissed the top of his head and signed to him that I would bring his present to him later.

"How old are they again?" he asked as we went to meet some other people.

"Four." I said and he sighed. "Frankie was born deaf."

"Is that why you know sign language?"

"Yeah, of course. My nephew is deaf, I'm not going to be one of those types of people who expect his parents to get him a cochlear and act like nothing's normal."

"Why don't they?" he asked and I looked at him.

"It's kind of a sore subject in my family, um, we don't believe a four year old should have to go through brain surgery for something that might not even work." I said and he nodded. "Just don't bring it up to people, okay?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course." he said.

"Come on," I said as I slipped my hand into his. "You should meet Sonny." I brought him along to my older brother's table where he was sitting with his wife and her son from a different father, and their two daughters. "Sonny." I said and he looked up at me.

"Hey Sammy." he smiled and stood up. He gave me a long hug and then I gave his wife Claire a hug.

"Hey Claire."

"Hey Sammy." she smiled.

"Sonny, I want you to meet my boyfriend Bruce, Bruce, this is my older brother Sonny."

"Nice to meet you." Bruce said shaking Sonny's hand.

"This is Claire, his wife, and her son David, and Georgia, and Virginia." I said pointing to the girls.

"Nice to meet you all." Bruce smiled. After introducing him to a few more people I finally brought him to MeeMaw's table where she was sitting with Dallas, Tabby and Chaz.

"Hey love bug." Dallas smiled at Bruce who turned pink.

"Stop flirting with my boyfriend." I said and Tabby laughed.

"Hey Bruce." she stood up and gave him a quick hug.

"Hey Tabby." he said.

"Bruce, this is Chaz, Chaz, this is Sammy's boyfriend Bruce, the one I told you about."

"It's nice to meet you." Chaz smiled. Chaz kind of reminded me of Steve in a way; he was very genuine and had the all American blond boy thing about him. It was no wonder she had fallen for him, he and I had been in the same class together in high school, but he was never my type.

"It's nice to meet you too, congratulations." he said to Chaz who grinned and wrapped his arm around Tabby, looking like he had won a million dollars.

"MeeMaw," I said as I walked over to her.

"Hello dear." she said as I knelt down next to her. She was a little old lady in her 90's with curly blue white hair and large glasses.

"MeeMaw, I want you to meet someone." I said and gestured Bruce over. "MeeMaw, this is Bruce Banner, my boyfriend." I said. She looked up at him and then patted my hand.

"Go see your little friend for a minute." she said nodding to Dallas. I smiled and stood up.

"Should I be worried?" Bruce asked softly.

"Yeah." I said and he shot me a look before I moved over to Dallas and crossed my arms.

"You know you probably should have listened to MeeMaw when you started dating Simon." Dallas said. "He knew that boy would be trouble." he looked at Chaz quickly.

"No offense."

"None taken." Chaz shrugged. "I didn't want him here either. You know my mother."

"Oh boy." I muttered at the thought of Gwen.

"I'm just glad I passed her stare down." Chaz mumbled and I laughed.

"Come down here where MeeMaw can see you." she instructed Bruce who knelt down in front of her. She took his hand and stared at him for a long moment before she smiled and patted his hand. "You're a good boy," she said and he looked up at me in surprise. "You need to trust people more. Let them get to know the real you." she said as she continued to pat his hand. "Come here Simone." I walked over to her and she took my hand with her other hand. "He's a good boy. Handsome too." she nodded and I smiled.

"Yeah, he is MeeMaw." I smiled at Bruce as she nodded.

"Good, now Chaz, help me get to the crepes. I think that boy was flirting with me." she said waving Chaz over. He laughed and helped MeeMaw stand up before they walked over to the food.

"So she approves?" Bruce asked and I nodded.

"She approves." I smiled before I kissed him lightly.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Okay ya'll I found a little bit of time and wrote another chapter, which I hope you guys will enjoy, though I think you will (If I do say so myself). However, if you ten to avoid stories with sexual content, you maaaay want to skip from the point when they get back to the hotel to the bottom. You need to read the bottom though, it's important. Well, not really important, but... Screw it, it's important. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Praline Connection on Frenchman street, that is my favorite restaurant in New Orleans and if you ever get a chance to go there, what Minnie orders is my favorite meal. Though the fried okra and pralines are pretty amazing! I only own Minnie, the Creole guy and Jacob the Alligator. I hope ya'll like this chapter, and I'll be updating sometime tomorrow most likely. Enjoy!** _

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That night I dressed in a peach coloured skirt with little crystal daises and a green chiffon sleeveless blouse with a pair of pale green two inch pumps with a strap around the ankle that looked like a little bow. I scrunched some curling gel in my hair- just a little, that way if Bruce decided to touch my hair for whatever reason it wouldn't feel gross. I finished putting on a little natural looking makeup and some lip-gloss before there was a knock on the door. I went to the door and opened it with a smile.

"Hey." I said as Bruce walked in, his hand behind his back.

"You look beautiful." he said and I looked down at myself.

"I hope it's not too casual, I didn't know what you wanted to do..."

"I figured we'd do something casual, if you don't mind." he smiled.

"Sounds great." I grinned before he pulled his hand from behind his back, producing a bouquet of purple tulips. "Bruce," I gasped with a surprised smile. "You didn't have to do that!"

"Well, to get the approval of two very important people, I did." he said and I smiled before I kissed him.

"Oh there's no vase in here." I sighed as I looked around. "I wonder if room service would send one." I went to the phone and dialed room service.

"Hello room service."

"Hi, this is Ms. Strong in room 906, is there any way you could send a vase of water up please?"

"Of course ma'am."

"Thank you." I said before I hung up the phone. Dallas walked in as I hung up and then turned around covering his eyes.

"I didn't see anything!" he announced before he paused, and turned around, then huffed seeing us fully dressed. "Why didn't I see anything?" he demanded.

"Because I knew you still had a key card." I said as I shoved the flowers in his hands. "Room service is coming up with a vase for those, sign for it please." I said and he nodded. "See you later."

"Bye bye you two!" he called. We went to the elevator and I laughed as we both went to hit the button.

"Where did you find him?" he asked wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"He and I were interns at the same time." I sighed. "When Tony opened Stark Tower in New York it was Dallas' chance to get a real job in Stark Industries, so he uprooted, just like me and got a job answering phones in R&D. We were the only ones we knew in New York, besides a few other interns but none of them are quite as much fun as Dallas." I smiled.

"Yeah, I can imagine." he smiled. The doors opened and we walked out onto the ground floor, his arm moved to my waist as we walked outside, the thick humid air hitting us like a ton of bricks.

"I know I'm going to sound insane, but I love it here." I said as we got into a cab.

"No, not really." he said and I smiled. "I mean, sure, the air isn't exactly as nice as it could be, but I've been in worse places." he looked at the Cabbie. "Frenchman and Decatur please." he said and the cabbie nodded before he started driving.

"So where you two from?" he asked, his accent was thick and he looked in the rear view mirror at us.

"New York." I said with a smile.

"You two on your honeymoon?" he asked and I looked at Bruce who smiled.

"That's right." he said and I smiled as I leaned in and kissed him. "I'm Professor Bruce Bancroft, this is my wife-"

"Nadine." I said catching onto the charade.

"Professor huh? Professor of what?"

"Women's Lib." I said and looked at Bruce with a smile, then back to the cabbie. "I met him in a lecture on women's sexual liberation of the 1970's." I smiled. "That was two months ago." I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. The cabbie didn't say much the rest of the way there. We got to Frenchman and Decatur and Bruce paid the guy before we got out of the car.

"_Women's sexual liberation of the 1970's_?" he laughed.

"Oh whatever, _Professor Bancroft_." I laughed.

"You made me sound like a perv!" he laughed and I smiled as I leaned in and kissed him. He laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Where did you get the name Nadine?"

"Where did you get the name Bancroft?" I shot back and he smiled as we walked up the street. "So what's the plan?"

"Well I heard this is a pretty authentic street, not too many tourists know about it, so I figured we'd come check it out and wing it." he shrugged.

"As Professor and Mrs. Bancroft?" I asked and he gave me a slight squeeze.

"If you want." he said and I smiled.

We ended up at a place called the praline connection, I looked at the menu and let out a low whistle. "Do you think they fry the salad too?" I asked and he laughed.

"Would you rather go somewhere else?"

"This is New Orleans I highly doubt the food gets much healthier then this." I said and bit my lip as I looked at the menu.

"What can I get-cha'll to drink?" a young girl came up to us and I looked at the menu.

"Can I get a sweet tea please?" I asked.

"Make that two please." Bruce smiled.

"Ya'll need another minute?" she asked.

"How is the fried okra?" I asked and she raised her eyebrows.

"I'm gonna send a basket on over here." she said and I smiled.

"Thank you so much, I think I know what I want, honey?" I smiled at Bruce who nodded.

"Yeah, go ahead dear." he said.

"I'll have the fried fish plate with macaroni and cheese and potato salad please."

"And for you hun?" she looked at him.

"I'll have the stewed chicken with greens and potato salad please." he said as he handed our menus back.

"Ya'll celebratin' somethin'?" she asked after a moment.

"Uh, actually, we just got married." Bruce smiled as he took my hand and kissed my knuckles. I smiled at him, then at her.

"Congratulations." she said and I grinned.

"Thank you." I said before she walked away. After dinner we were paying the check when the waitress came over with a slice of cheese cake covered in praline sauce. "We didn't order this." I said and she nodded.

"From my boss, to the newlyweds." she said and I looked at the old man behind the counter who waved to us.

"Thank you." I smiled at him and he nodded.

"Thank you very much." Bruce smiled at the waitress who took the card he had handed her and walked away. When we finished our free dessert we walked out of there, hand in hand, I had bought a pound of pralines to bring back him, after discovering how amazing they were. We went to a club where they had a loud jazz band playing and I managed to coax Bruce in, they were really good, and before I knew it I had him dancing with me, he said something about not knowing how to dance to me, but I had told him no one knew how to dance, and to just wing it. When we left there I was laughing and he was checking his pulse.

"So, do you have like, a heart condition or something?" I asked and he looked at me, and then nodded.

"Yeah, um, I do actually." he said. "I uh, I can't get too worked up about things, can't get my blood racing too much, it's bad for my heart." he said and I slowed down.

"Are you okay?" I asked and he nodded as he took a few deep breaths.

"Fine." he said and smiled softly. "Little weird, I know, but what can you do sometimes, right?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, everyone's got something." I sighed.

"How about you?" he asked and I pointed to my knee.

"Bad knee. From when I fell down the stairs when Loki was threatening Tony... Well, actually, it was the other way around, but still." I shrugged.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" he asked and I looked at him in surprise.

"Who, Loki?" I asked and he nodded. "No, he didn't even touch me." I sighed. "I owe Tony a lot; he let the guy throw him out the window to make sure I was safe." I said and Bruce looked at me with raised eyebrows. "His suit caught him." I smiled and he nodded.

"Okay, am I seeing things, or is that guy actually walking an alligator?" he asked suddenly. I turned and let out a small scream as I ran behind Bruce.

"Aw ma'am, he fine." the old Creole man laughed as I peeked around Bruce's shoulder. "His name Jacob."

"Jacob the Alligator?" I asked and the man nodded proudly.

"I woke up one mornin, and went to the shower and there he were. No windows open or nothin'! So I fish him outta there and fed him chicken and bloody milk," I made a face and Bruce laughed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me around him to stand next to him. "And I name him Jacob."

"Okay." I nodded with a small frown.

"You wanna pet him?" he asked with a huge grin and I backed up against Bruce.

"Sure she does." he said and I looked at him in horror.

"No, Bruce don't." I said as he took my wrist.

"He okay, he don't bite." the old man said before kneeling down in front of Jacob and grabbing the tip of the gator's nose, holding his mouth closed.

"You're fine." Bruce said in my ear softly as we knelt down next to the alligator.

"Let him see you so he know where you comin' from." the old man said and we did before Bruce reached my hand out and gently ran it along the Gator's long face. I squirmed against him and he chuckled in my ear.

"Quit squirming." he said and then ran his own hand along the gator. When he finally let me pull away from it I turned and hid my face in his chest, he laughed as did the old man.

"Jacob like you." the man said with a semi toothless grin. "You two have a good night y'hear."

"You too." Bruce called to the man as he and Jacob the alligator left. "That wasn't too bad was it?" he asked and I shuttered. "Come on, you heard him, the alligator liked you." he laughed and I shook my head.

"No, he was creepy!" I said and he laughed.

"You did fine." he said and I shook my head.

"Come on, Nadine." he said as he offered my his hand.

"I want the one you didn't touch the alligator with." I said and he laughed before he took my hand with his other hand. When we got back to the hotel I was laughing at the memory of the alligator. "It really wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Not so bad at all." he said and I smiled.

"Do you think I was brave?"

"For touching the alligator?" I nodded and he nodded as we walked into the lobby. "Bravest girl I know."

"Even though I freaked out?"

"Even though you freaked out." he nodded and I smiled.

"Do you want to go back to your room?" I asked and he looked at me quickly. "I mean, we don't have to do anything if you don't want to, just, given the choice between sharing a bed with someone, I'd rather it be you."

"Alright." he said as we went to the elevator. We both went to push the button and he got to it first. "I'll let you push it on the way up." he said and I sighed heavily, but smiled. We got to his room and I smiled as he shut the door, I slipped my shoes off and put my clutch on the table before I looked over at him. He was taking his watch off, not paying much attention until I walked over and lightly kissed his neck.

I felt him swallow as I ran my lips across his Adam's apple, stopping only at his collar bone while I unbuttoned the buttons on his shirt. A moment later he seemed to realize what was going on because he took hold of my hips and lifted me up so I was sitting on the table.

We kissed passionately, his fingers working at my buttons before he finally got them all off. My shirt landed in a crumpled mess on the floor, exposing my cream coloured bra to him. He slipped his arms out of the sleeves of his purple shirt, letting it fall to the ground on top of my green one. I couldn't help but smile as I kissed the dark hair on his chest, my hand slowly making its way south.

He let out a strained sounding groan as I worked on the button to his pants, then moved my skirt up so it was bunched up around my hips, I reached behind me and unclipped my bra, held it to my chest, and looked up at him before I let it slide down my arms and to the floor. His lips met mine again, more forceful then before as he grabbed one of my legs and pulled it over his hip. I moaned into his kisses and our tongues moved together in a frenzy, before I arched my hips into his. He suddenly stopped, and pulled away quickly, as if burnt by something.

"What?" I asked quickly. "What is it?"

"I- I'm sorry." he said as he ran his hands over his face. "I- I don't think I can..."

"Everything looks fine to me." I said as I looked down, and then up. He shook his head.

"No, it's not that-"

"Then what? Is it me?" I asked and he quickly moved back to me as I covered my bare chest, tears of embarrassment stung in my eyes as I looked down.

"It's not you." he put his hand under my chin and tilted my face up so I was looking at him. He lightly kissed my lips and brushed the tears from my cheeks. "Don't cry, please," he said softly. "I just think we're going a little quick, don't you?" he asked and I shrugged. "Maybe we got caught up in the moment?"

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.

"It's not that I don't want to." he said softly. "I just think we should wait." he kissed me again and I sighed before I hugged him, not caring that we were both half naked at the moment. "Now do you think you'll be mature enough to sleep in the same bed as me without trying to jump me?" he asked with a small smile.

"Considering all I'm going to be wearing is one of your shirts." I said as I slid off the table and picked up the purple shirt he had been wearing. "We'll see who the more mature one is." I said and he smiled before he went to the bathroom. "Where are you going?"

"I need a cold shower." he said as he walked into the bathroom. I sighed and pulled his shirt on before I lay back on the bed.

"Me too." I sighed.


	18. Chapter 18

**_Hey guys, this one's a filler chapter, but I hope you like it. Sorry I know I said I'd post it yesterday, but it's impossible to write when you're hung over. =) I hope you like the chapter, we're getting close to something big happening. What could it be? Keep reading and see!_ **

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The next morning I woke up in Bruce's room, wearing his purple shirt, with his arm wrapped around me. I could feel him breathing against me, still asleep. I slowly slipped out from under his arm, he didn't stir, just slept as I quickly and quietly changed back into my clothes from the night before, picked up my heels and my clutch and went to the door.

I looked back at him for a moment before I slipped out the door and quietly shut it behind me. I went downstairs, and to my room, and opened the door. Dallas was laying spread eagle on the bed in a pair of underwear and a pink tee shirt, the air conditioning blasting.

I undressed, and pulled on a tank top and some shorts before I crawled into bed next to him. He sighed, and rolled over, wrapping his arm around me the way Bruce had done.

The next few days were insane, everything was piling up with the wedding, and since someone gave the plantation my phone number I had become the sort of go between with them.

Two days before the wedding I drove to Oak Alley and went over seating arrangements, and then I had a meeting with the wedding photographer, this cowboy type of guy with very obvious Italian featured and dark curly hair who smoked like a chimney, but was an amazing photographer. We discussed things for awhile, and then I went back to the hotel, the beginnings of a migraine starting.

"Where have you been?" Abby asked as she walked through the lobby with Rick, Mandi and Frankie.

"I went to Oak Alley to go over the arrangements." I said and she shook her head.

"I thought mom was going to do that."

"Yeah, well, I guess I didn't really want a vacation as much as I thought I did." I shrugged.

"Hon, take the kids to the pool." she said to Rick who nodded.

"Yeah of course. Come on kids." he said and signed to Frankie as they walked away.

"What's going on?" Abby asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing, I just, I don't like not having something to do I guess."

"You know Simon went missing this morning. Everyone things you went off with him."

"Why in god's name would I go off with Simon?" I asked in disgust.

"Well, Gwen thinks it, but she hasn't shut up about it since."

"Gwen can-"

"I know, MeeMaw told her."

"What?"

"She said that Gwen thinks too highly of the little bastard and that you wouldn't be caught dead in the same room as him let alone go running off with him like Gwen has deluded herself to believe. It was kind of amazing."

"I want to be MeeMaw when I grow up." I sighed and she laughed.

The next morning Tabby had booked massages and nail appointments for us, we went to the spa and were led to rooms where we changed into white fluffy bathrobes, and then were brought to a room with massage tables in the middle. They gave us these large white sheets to use to cover our bodies before we got onto the tables.

"My god you're tense," the girl who was doing my massage, Judy, said as she started to work on my shoulders. "Tell me if this hurts."

"No, harder, please." I said and she laughed as she dug in more pressure on my shoulders. As she worked on my for the hour, all of us were talking and laughing, by the end of the hour I felt so much better. We got our nails done and then had to go back to Oak Alley for the wedding rehearsal.

When we got there everyone was already there, the woman I had been dealing with, Helen was trying to get some information out of Gwen who was being useless and I let out a long sigh.

Hello tension.

Tabby and I went over and rescued Helen from Gwen and explained to her what was going to be happening, Chaz walked over and calmed his mother down and then we got the ball rolling. The plantation was still giving tours and everything for the day, so Helen was doing a good job of getting them to go around us, or keep them out of our way.

The bridesmaids would go first, starting with Cleo and Isaac, then Peggy and Max, then Shay and Simon, Abby and Rick, and then me and Deacon, Chaz's best friend since middle school.

"Listen up Sid Vicious," I heard Shay say as she grabbed a handful of Simon's hair before they walked together. "If you fuck this up in any way, any way at all, I will fuck you up, got that?"

"Will you let go of my hair?" he asked and she tightened her grip.

"Do you understand?" she repeated.

"Yes, god!" he said and she let go. I shared a look with Deacon who grinned and leaned over to me.

"You know you can pull my hair all you want." he said, and my dad who was right behind him smacked him upside the head making me and Tabby laugh. As he and I walked up the aisle he looked over at me. "So when are you and I going to do this for real?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"You're lucky my father is back there." I said and he grinned. Mandi and Frankie were right behind us, acting as the flower girl and ring bearer respectively, someone laughed and I saw Abby sign to him "_No honey, you're not an actual bear._" making me laugh. We got to the area that would serve as the altar, and then we went over what would be going on, the way the ceremony would take place and everything.

"Your boyfriend's here."

"He's not in the wedding party, why does he have to be here?" I whispered back.

"Tony Stark apparently wanted to see what you dropping names got." she said softly and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"That sounds like Tony." I said. When we finished the rehearsal ceremony I walked over to Tony who was talking with Pepper.

"Well, doesn't this place look authentic?" he asked and I smiled as he continued. "I could see you here now, keeping an eye on things, running everything-"

"Are you saying I could be a plantation owner Mr. Stark?" I asked and he looked offended.

"Well I was saying that I could picture you running a museum like this, but if there's something you want to tell me…" he said and I laughed as he covered his heart in a very over dramatic way. "So hey, Kitten, you ready for your big day?" he asked Tabby who was walking over with a smile.

"I've been ready for a year and a half." she said.

"You've been engaged for a year and a half?" Pepper asked.

"No honey, I've been engaged for two and a half years." she laughed. "We've been planning for a year and a half."

"Wow." Pepper whistled.

"If you two ever get engaged, please do yourself a favor, and don't wait too long." Tabby smiled at Pepper who smiled lightly and nodded.

"Hey," I jumped having not heard Bruce step up next to me.

"You scared the crap out of me." I laughed as I put my hand over my heart.

"Sorry," he said and Tabby looked between us before she looked at Pepper.

"Hey Pepper, you want to see where we'll have the party?" she asked and Pepper smiled.

"Yeah of course." she said. "Come on Tony."

"Hey you see one banquet hall, you've seen 'em all." he said and Pepper grabbed his hand.

"Come on Tony!" she said as she pulled him along. I laughed lightly and looked over to Bruce.

"They're like the most subtle couple in the world." I said and he smiled.

"Oh completely." he nodded. "So what have you been up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean in the time you've been avoiding me." he said and I looked away. "Are we not going to talk about it?" he asked and I sighed.

"I'm not avoiding you, I've just been busy." I said. "I don't know how but somehow I've been roped into handling a ton of this stuff because Gwen is useless and my mom ate some weird fish the other day." I sighed. "I'm sorry Bruce, I know I haven't been around." I rested my forehead on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "If this is what it's like planning someone else's wedding, I'm so never getting married."

"Don't say that, you've got plenty of time."

"So do you." I said as I looked up at him.

"Well, not as much." I chuckled and lightly kissed his neck. He sighed and looked down at me, and lightly pushed a strand of hair that had fallen from my ponytail behind my ear before he lightly ran his thumb along one of the new highlights in my hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry about the other night." he said and I shook my head.

"No don't be." I said. "You were right, we should wait." I smiled.

"Hey, I hate to break this up," Sonny said suddenly as he walked over. "But we've got to get to the rehearsal dinner." he said with a small smile. "Then you girls have to do whatever it is girls do at bachelorette parties."

"Uh huh." I said and he grinned as he looked at Bruce. "You guys aren't going to tell me what's happening at the bachelor party, are you?"

"Come on sis, you know the rules, no girls." Sonny grinned as Bruce wrapped his arm around me.

"You'll tell me won't you?" I asked Bruce when Sonny walked away.

"Maybe, if you're good." he said and I smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Hey ya'll! This is it, the wedding chapter! I hope you like it, also, I want to let you know, most of my characters, like the Creole guy, the waitress at the Praline connection, the photographer, Dallas, Simon, MeeMaw... They're all based off of real people. I won't go into their details and everything, I just wanted to let you know. I do hope you like this chapter, and in the next chapter, something Big is coming! Hint... Hint...**_

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The bachelorette party was just us going out for drinks and dancing in the French Quarter. When we got back to the hotel we had all had one too many drinks. Tabby went to Shay's room and spent the night with her, while I found myself knocking on Bruce's door. He opened the door looking amused. "Are you as drunk as I feel you are?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I don't drink." he said as he let me into the room. I had my heels in one hand and my clutch in the other. He shut the door as I put my shoes and clutch down on the table and sat on the bed.

"Did you go to the bachelor party?" I asked and he nodded. "Can I stay here with you?"

"Sure." he nodded.

"Can I have your purple shirt?" I asked and he smiled. He found the shirt and I took it into the bathroom and took my dress off, and put on the shirt, then went out of the bathroom to the bedroom where Bruce was sitting on the bed.

"What time do you have to be up tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well the ceremony isn't until one." I said. "But we've got to get our hair done, our makeup, do a photo shoot, go to Oak Alley." I sighed. "So I need to be up at like eight."

"Okay." he said and slipped into the sheets. I slipped into the bed next to him and he reached over me to shut off the lamp. He wrapped his arm around me and I smiled as I curled into his embrace. I rolled over so I was facing him and sighed. "Good night." he said softly.

"Good night." I replied, mostly asleep.

"Minnie," Bruce said gently as he woke me up. "Come on, you've got to get up."

"Nooo..." I whined.

"Come on, your sister is getting married today."

"No." I said and wrapped my arms around him. "Let's just stay in bed all day, okay?" I asked as I rested my face in his neck.

"We'll have time for that later." he said and I sighed before I kissed his neck and pulled away.

"Remind me not to drink like that again." I said and he smiled before reaching over me to the bedside table and handing me a glass of water. I smiled as I sat up and took it from him. "I'm sorry I came here drunk." I smiled and he shook his head.

"No, don't be, you were fine."

"I wasn't anything like Roxy was I?"

"Roxy Jameson?" he asked with a chuckle. "No, you were nothing like her."

"Oh thank god." I said and he laughed. I sighed and climbed out of the bed before I drained the glass of water and then kissed his cheek. He smiled as I went to the bathroom and changed back onto my dress and picked up my heels. "I've got to go get ready."

"I know, I'll see you later." he said as he got out of the bed. He walked with me to the door and lightly kissed me before he opened the door for me. I gave him one more kiss then went downstairs to my room, and took a quick shower, then got ready to go.

Dallas brought his suit as well as my dress and we went to Oak Alley where everything was being set up. We were lead to a changing room, most of the bridal party was there, and there was a hairdresser and a makeup artist, both of whom stared at Dallas as he started on my hair. They did the other girl's hair and makeup, while Dallas did mine and Tabby's and Abby's, then when they left he took this spray he had and sprayed it on the other girl's hair.

"It'll keep your hair from frizzing in the humidity." he explained before he looked at the mirror and sprayed it on his own hair. They all got into their dresses and shoes while I helped Tabby into her dress. It had a mess of petticoats, which Dallas and I helped her with, then we brought out the dress. She held her arms up as we lowered it over her and got it on right. Dallas zipped up the back, then came around the front and helped with the bow around her high waist.

It was a beautiful white dress with a high waist, it flared out at the waist, and above the waist it went to her bust, her shoulders and neckline were made of a translucent material with pearls embroidered all over the dress in beautiful vine looking designs. She was wearing a pair of white satin heels, and pulled her dress up so Dallas could help her put her garter on.

We went outside and the photographer was wearing a nice looking suit, he told us to go under the line of oak trees, we took some pictures with us all holding our bouquets, looking perfect and serious, then some silly pictures before it was time to start.

"You've got this." I said softly to Tabby who had started to freak out a little bit.

"I know, I'm excited, I am, and it's about time, right?" she asked and I nodded.

"It is, you and Chaz are perfect together." I said as I put my hands on her shoulders. Everything will be fine."

"Hey there Sammy," Dad said to me, and then looked at Tabby. His eyes softened and he smiled. "You look beautiful sweetheart." he said to her and she smiled before she wrapped her arms around me tightly, and then hugged Dad. Deacon came over to me and looked at us before he sighed.

"You ready?" he asked and I nodded, I linked armed with him, smiled at Tabby who smiled and we walked out of the canvas tent that was at the end of the aisle.

We walked up the aisle, smiling as people watched. I looked over the crowd and caught Bruce's eye. He smiled and I smiled back at him before I looked at Dallas and Pepper, both of whom were wiping their eyes. Deacon and I got to the top of the aisle, which was also the top of the stairs to the front porch. I watched as Mandie tossed rose petals and Frankie walked alongside her.

They got to the end and stepped off to the side like they were told, I caught Frankie's eye as he made the sign for bear and I smiled, and then turned my gaze to Chaz who looked like he had stopped breathing.

I smiled even wider as I watched Tabby and dad walk down the aisle, they got to the end and Dad kissed the top of Tabby's head. I felt myself starting to tear up a little as the ceremony went on, I brushed the tears from my eyes lightly, soon she turned around and handed me her bouquet before he slipped the silver wedding band on her finger, she did the same for him, and finally were pronounced man and wife, they signed the marriage certificate and so did Deacon and I as witnesses, then they kissed longly. Everyone cheered and clapped, and then Tabby turned around and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you." she said softly in my ear.

"Hey, come on, there's time for this later," I said. "Right now, it's time to party." She pulled back and grinned as I winked, then she laughed and hugged Abby. We went around to the back where the tables and everything were, plates had small cards with names on them, each round table held about ten people, I was at the table with Mom, Dad, Tabby, Chaz, Gwen, Deacon, Simon, MeeMaw and to my surprise, Bruce. Tony, Dallas and Pepper were at the table next to us along with Rick, Abby, Mandi, Frankie, Sonny, Claire, David, Virginia, and Georgia.

The first course was a mini crawfish etouffee pot pie, the second course was a blackened grilled salmon with Cajun spiced teriyaki and rosemary with a side of seafood stuffed mushroom caps, and a sweet pecan topped salad. After everyone had eaten and had been talking for awhile, Chaz stood up and walked over to the DJ and asked for the microphone.

"Uh, hi everyone," he said and everyone looked at him. "Hey, everyone, um, thank you to everyone who made the trip, in this unbelievable heat, I know, crazy time for a wedding, right?" he asked with a small laugh. "But, this is what Tabby and I have wanted for ourselves for as long as I can remember." he smiled at her.

"When I first met Tabby, I actually was in the same class as her older- not by many years-" he smiled at me and I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Sister, Simone. Uh, we were juniors in high school, and Tabby was a freshman, and she would eat lunch with us every day. I didn't talk to her for three months." he grinned with a small smile. "I was so scared of this little freshman girl, I would act like a tough guy, I would be- admittedly- kind of a jerk, because I was scared of what she thought of me. The first time we actually talked, she called me an asshole, kids, I'm sorry for the bad word." he said and a few of the parents chuckled. "I'll admit it, when she told me off, and called me that, I knew right then I would marry that crazy girl on the color guard." he said and looked at Tabby who shook her head with a smile.

"The first time I saw her at a school dance, she had requested a song that everyone thought she was nuts for requesting, I asked her to dance, then asked why she requested that song. For almost the entire song she explained to me why she requested that song, as the song ended she gave me this stern look, and then finally sighed and- god I'll never forget this- she goes _'Well are you gonna kiss me or not?_'." a couple of people laughed as Tabby grinned. "I was completely shocked; I had always thought that I was doing such a good job at keeping my emotions a secret. Apparently not, but as I kissed her that day in the John Marshall High School gym, I knew I would never kiss another person again." he grinned as he looked at her. "So for our first dance as a married couple, honey, I'll never forget this song." he said and handed the mic back to the DJ.

He walked over to Tabby and nodded to the DJ who put on their song, Elvis Presley's _Can't Help Falling in Love_. She laughed, stood up, took his hand and pulled him out to the dance floor, him grinning the entire time as they danced.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Okay ya'll, this is the chapter you've been waiting for! I hope you like it!** _

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A few hours into the party everyone was drinking, dancing and having a good time. I smiled as I saw Bruce and MeeMaw talking, and I walked over to them. "I hope you're not making any moves on my man MeeMaw." I said as I wrapped my arms around Bruce's shoulders from behind, leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek. He smiled and touched my arms, before looking back at MeeMaw.

"I was telling him about the time I danced with Frank Sinatra." she said as she pat his hand. "Frank was shorter than you, but not by much." she pointed her finger at him and he smiled. "But enough about Frank, go, dance, and send that waiter over here; he was supposed to bring me a drink."

"That wasn't a waiter Mrs. Strong, that was Tony Stark."

"Call me MeeMaw." she said as she hit his hand.

"Hey MeeMaw." Simon sat down next to the older woman on the other side. My grip on Bruce's shoulders tightened as she looked at him darkly.

"You call me Mrs. Strong." she said sharply to him, making him blink in surprise.

"MeeMaw, it's Simon, remember me?"

"I'm old, not stupid." she said and he raised his eyebrows before he looked at me with a small smile.

"Who's this?"

"Come on Bruce," I said as I straightened up. "I need a drink." I took his hand and looked at MeeMaw who was narrowing her eyes at Simon.

"You go on dear." she smiled at us. Bruce stood up and followed me, I knew he wanted to ask what was going on, but he waited until we made it to the bar.

"Is everything okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"That was my ex." I said and he nodded as he cupped my face.

"Yeah, I guessed that. Are you okay?" he repeated and I nodded.

"Yeah." I sighed, and then turned to the bartender. "Can I get-"

"A water." he cut me off and I looked at him. "It's humid, it's hot and you haven't been hydrating properly." he said and then smiled. "Alcohol dehydrates you, drink some water, then you can have a drink later." he said and I smiled.

"Why do you take suck good care of me?" I asked as I turned around and thanked the bartender for the bottle of water he was handing me. Bruce wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Because you need someone to take care of you." he said in my ear. I sighed and was about to respond when my dad walked over.

"Bruce, I've danced with all my girls but her, mind if I steal her for a song?"

"Of course not Mr. Strong." he said and Daddy smiled.

"Call me Nate, son." he said and Bruce smiled. I smiled at Bruce as my dad offered his arm and I linked my through his. It was a slow dance to the song At Last by Etta James, because what wedding was complete without that song?

"So do you like him?" I asked and Dad nodded.

"He's defiantly an improvement from your last boyfriend." he said and I smiled.

"Come on Daddy, an improvement?" I asked and he sighed. "He's infinitely better."

"I know, I know." he laughed. "Next time you come to LA, bring him along, I haven't had much time to get to know him."

"But you like him?" I pressed and he laughed.

"You are so stubborn."

"I learned from the best." I smiled and he nodded.

"Yeah, your mom is pretty stubborn." I hit his shoulder and he hugged me tightly. "You were always my little girl." he said. "I'm not supposed to like any boy you date." he said, and then nodded.

"Stop avoiding the subject." I said as I wiggled out of his grasp.

"Yes, okay!" he said and I grinned. "I like him, I approve, he's okay in my book, are you happy now?"

"Thank you Daddy." I smiled like I used to when I knew I had gotten my way.

"You little shit." he teased and I laughed before the song changed.

"Alright, alright," the DJ said into the microphone. "All the single ladies, get up here on the dance floor, it's time for the bride to toss that bouquet. Now ladies, let's have a clean fight, no pushing, no shoving, and if you're gonna pull the hair, wait till we get the jello pool out here." he said and a few people chuckled.

"Go on," Dad said as he pushed me towards the group of girls.

"Okay, Dallas, help me up," Tabby said to Dallas who had been flirting with the DJ for the better part of an hour. Dallas helped her onto a chair and held her hand as she turned around, and tossed the flowers over her head. The girls gasped, all of them reaching for them, until finally I smiled to see Pepper had caught them.

"Looks like you'll be planning another wedding!" Dallas said to me making me laugh and Tony stare at Pepper for a minute, as if in thought. I knew that look so I walked over to him.

"I'm gonna do it." he said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Right now?" I asked and he looked down at me. "It's Pepper, you know she's not big on the whole public display of your relationship, not to mention, if you do it in front of my family, it'll be on the front page tomorrow morning." I said and he nodded.

"That's true, besides, I don't have the ring yet. When we get back to New York set up a meeting with a good jeweler, who do you think...?"

"I don't know, Tiffany's, Buglari, Verragio..."

"Good, set up meetings with all of them." he said and I nodded.

"You're sure?"

"Am I ever not?" he asked and I nodded.

"Okay, when we get back to New York, I'll have meetings set up with them, any others you want?"

"Yeah, shop around a bit, pick a few others, you know the drill."

"That I do." I nodded he looked at me and I smiled. "I'm not going to be out of a job, am I?"

"Of course not. Who else is going to watch the kids?" he asked and I laughed. "Besides, I think Jarvis likes having you around."

"Oh, anything to keep the Artificial Inteligance happy." I smiled and he nodded.

"Hey, you know how he can get, which reminds me, can you grab me a scotch?" he asked and I nodded.

"Scotch on the rocks, the older the better." I said to the bartender. She nodded and poured the drink and after delivering it to Tony I found Bruce and coaxed him onto the dance floor with me.

"You know this dress is a lot less fun without that backless dress of yours." he said in my ear and I smiled.

"Well maybe I'll wear it sometime, just for you." I said as I looked up at him.

"Maybe I'd like that." he said softly and I smiled.

"I'm sure you would." I said. "Just me, you, that dress, a bottle of white wine.." I moved in closer to him, making his hand that was around my waist tighten slightly.

"You have no idea what you do to me." he said softly and I smiled.

"I'm sure I have an idea." I said boldly. He smiled and I kissed his chin quickly before the song ended. "Do you want a drink?"

"Please." he said as he followed me to the bar.

About an hour later people had started dispersing, we were still there, having a good time, MeeMaw was talking to my mom, Dad was dancing with Mandie, and Gwen was telling Pepper all about her latest divorce. "Hey, has anyone seen Helen?" Cleo asked and I stood up.

"I'll go check her office." I said. I patted Bruce's hand, we had been sitting together, talking with mom and MeeMaw, and I stood up. I was walking into the plantation house when I ran into Simon who looked really, really high. "Simon, what's going on?" I asked as I caught him, he tried shoving my hand off of his shoulder but I held tight.

"God, will you just- Mind Your Own Business Sam?" he asked loudly.

"Hey, _hey_!" I caught up to him as he walked to the party. "You need to calm down; you're really messed up right now."

"Oh _I'm_ messed up?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, you are, you're not thinking straight, let's just go get you a glass of water and calm down a little bit." I said softly as I tried to reason with him.

"Fuck you." he spat and started to move again, but I blocked his path.

"Simon, there's kids over there, they don't need to see you like this." I said and he laughed. "Think of the kids."

"Think of the kids?" he asked and I nodded. "Yeah, I'll show you what I think of the kids." I think I heard him hit me before I registered what had happened, but the next thing I knew I was holding my face, my lip bleeding, and him holding onto my arm tightly.

"Simon, you're not yourself right now," I tried to reason with him, god, this was bringing back some horrible memories. "Just take a few deep breaths, it'll all be okay." I tried to say.

"It'll all be okay?" he asked, enraged about something, what I couldn't tell you. "_Nothing_ Is Okay!" he shouted at me and I looked back at the party, I knew that had to be loud enough for someone to hear. "Nothing Is Okay! It Was _Never _Okay!" he shouted, before he shoved me back. I stumbled on my heel and the grass as a few people walked over. "Is _That_ Okay!" he shouted at me. I stood up and brushed the back of my dress off. "Is that okay?" Simon hissed as he grabbed me by the throat. I gasped, grabbing his hands. "I'm Not Okay!" he shouted at me, squeezing my throat. "None Of Us Are Okay!" he shouted. I could hear Mandie start to cry as I tried to pry his fingers off of my neck.

"Simon-" I choked, my eyes flickered behind him, where a large shape moved out of the shadows.

My eyes widened in fear as the Hulk, the same being I had seen on TV and in the news came storming over, and in a single movement grabbed Simon, who in his surprise let go of me. I fell to my knees gasping, Chaz and Rick ran over to me as the Hulk threw Simon into the plantation house.

"Not okay." he growled lowly, before he looked at me. I sat there staring up at him with wide eyes, I didn't know what to say, I just gaped at him as he stared down at me, there was something in his gaze, something, familiar... Then turned, and took off running.

"Bruce?" I breathed, as I scrambled to my feet.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Hey ya'll! I loved the great reception that my last chapter got, I'm so happy you like what happened, and I hope you continue to like what happens next. Bruce is in the chapter, but he's not really in it. That makes sense, I think. Anyhoo, here's the chapter, I hope you like it, and I hope you continue to review ;) Because seriously, you guys reviewing is why I update so often.** _

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People were rushing over and asking me things, but I just stared at where he had run off to, then I gathered up my skirt and took off running after him. I made it a few feet, and then fell in the grass. I growled in frustration at my heels and jumped back up.

"Sammy, leave it!" Gwen called to me.

"I can't just leave it! That's Bruce!" I said as tears grew in my eyes. I looked at Tony who was watching. "Isn't it?" I asked and he nodded after a second. I shook my head and Dallas came over to me, he put his hand on my arm, trying to comfort me.

"We'll take my car," the photographer said and I looked at him in surprise. "I know a lot of people who live in the direction he was heading."

"Where was he heading?"

"Cajun country." he said and I stared at him. "The bayous." Tony followed us to where his rental car was. He opened the trunk and pulled out a red and gold suitcase I knew to be his suit. He put it on and looked at us. "I'll follow from the air." he said and I nodded.

"Sam, don't!" Abby called as she ran to us. "You can't he's dangerous!"

"He Saved My Life!" I shouted as I walked around the car and threw open the door. "And I can't just leave him out there." I got into the car.

"Well... Maybe we should call someone?" she offered and I looked back at the broken front of the Plantation home.

"Yeah, call 911. Simon's going to need it." I said before I got into the rusty, shit kicker truck and slammed the door closed. The photographer got into the car and started it up before pulling out of there, and in the direction that Bruce had run off in.

"So how long have you been dating the Hulk?" he asked as he drove.

"A few weeks." I said softly. My phone rang and I answered it quickly. "Tony." I said.

"He's going south east. What's that way?"

"Southeast?" I asked the driver who thought for a second.

"Swamps mostly."

"Mostly swamps," I said to Tony.

"I'll keep an eye on him, he'll tucker himself out." Tony said and I sighed. "So what happened that pissed him off that bad?" he asked.

"It was Simon, he hit me, and tried to strangle me." I said into the phone. I touched my tender neck, it hurt to talk, and I knew it would be bruised, but right now I was more concerned with finding Bruce okay. "Look, Tony, my battery is dying, call me if he stops, or changes direction." I said.

"No problem." he said and we both hung up.

"So, I never found out your name." I said to the photographer who smiled at me.

"Carlo." he said and I shook his outstretched hand. "Mind if I smoke?" I shook my head and he cracked the window so he could smoke as he made a call. "Hey man, it's Cal. Yeah. Yeah." he sniggered. "Hey, look, The Hulk is headed your way. Yeah that big green thing from the news. I wanna know where it ends up."

"_He_." I said and Carlo looked at me. "He's a _He_, not an _It_." I said and he looked back at the road.

"Yeah, no, nothing like that. No, I've just got... Well, I've got his girlfriend here. Yeah. No, I'm serious. Okay." he hung up. "I'm sorry." I didn't say anything; I just looked out the window. When Tony called me again it had been a good 40 minutes of driving.

"Yeah, he's seemed to have stopped. Some swamp, I'll have Jarvis send you the location."

"Do you see it Ms. Strong?" I heard the AI in Tony's suit ask.

"Yeah, I see it Jarvis." I said as it popped up on the GPS in my phone. "I'll see you guys soon, we're not far." I said before I showed the mat to Carlo. Ten minutes later I saw Tony having some stare down with two little kids.

"What's going on?"

"He's _our_ alien, _we're_ gonna keep him!" the little boy said.

"_Yeeeah!_" the little girl drawled.

"He's not an alien!" I said as I pushed past the kids. I found Bruce- or the Hulk, lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. I dropped to my knees next to him, and lightly ran my hand over his green face. He didn't move, which concerned me, until I realized he was breathing. I heard a car pull up and the kids ran towards it.

"We found an alien!" they cheered to their parents.

"What in the hell is going- Oh my god!" the wife shouted when she saw me and the Hulk.

"I'll take care of this." I heard the sound of a shotgun being pumped and I jumped up and turned around.

"_No!_" I screamed at him. "No, don't hurt him, he's okay!"

"What in the hell _is_ he?" the man asked. "Some kinda… Sasquatch?"

"Hey man, you're Jasper Reeves, right?" Carlo asked.

"Yeah, who're you?" he asked.

"I'm Cal, I'm Bill Hopper's friend."

"How is Bill?" the guy asked and Carlo rolled his eyes.

"Man, Bill got arrested again."

"Huh, what for this time?" Jasper asked.

"Drunk in public."

"What again?" Jasper laughed. "I remember this one time-" he was cut off by his wife elbowing him in the ribs. "Oh, right, uh, ma'am, sorry I pointed a gun at your... Alien."

"He's not an alien."

"He sure looks like an alien." one of the kids said.

"Actually she's right, he's not an alien." Tony said as his Iron Man armor shrunk down to make a briefcase again. "And he's going to need some clothes when he wakes up." he said and Jasper nodded slowly.

"Sure, I'll grab him something to wear."

"Honey, why don't we get you out of that dress?" Jasper's wife asked. "My daughter Laurie's got clothes that will fit you." she said as she took my arm. I followed her into the house where she gave me a pair of short jean shorts and a green and white tee shirt that practically matched the color of Hulk's skin.

I took my earrings and heels off and pulled the pretty clip I had in my hair out and put them all in the truck; I walked back over to the Hulk and sat down next to him. "Honey," I looked at Karen, the wife, and smiled she had brought out a cup of coffee. I took a sip and coughed when I realized it was very heavily spiked. She had also brought out two blankets, one of which she spread on the ground, the other one I used to cover my very large, very green boyfriend.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here." I said as I looked away from Hulk.

"Well what am I gonna do? Insist you get your big green friend and get out of here?" she asked and I smiled. "Besides, I think the kids like your other friend." she nodded to the window where I could see Tony telling the kids stories about Iron Man, throwing himself on the ground at one point. I rolled my eyes with a smile and Karen touched my hand. "How long have you been together?"

"A few weeks." I said.

"And he's not always... Green?" she asked and I shook my head with a smile.

"No, no, this is the first time it's happened that I've seen. I mean, I had always heard about the Hulk, since that incident at the university, and Harlem, and all of that, but I never heard about who he was or anything, the papers were pretty good at keeping that a secret." I sighed.

"So what happened?"

"I was at a wedding, over at Oak Alley." I said and she nodded. "And there was an ex boyfriend there and he... Hurt me." I showed here where Simon had smacked me, and tried to strangle me.

"Justin!" she hollered into the house. The little boy showed up at the doorway. "Get some ice out here." she called and he ran into the kitchen. He came out a moment later with some ice in a dish towel and Karen held it to my face lightly. "So, he hurt you, what happened next?" she asked and I nodded to the Hulk.

"Bruce changed, and he- he stopped Simon-"

"Simon's your ex?"

"Yes ma'am." I nodded. "Then he took off." I said.

"And you followed him?"

"I couldn't just let him... Wake up somewhere unfamiliar, with no one he knows." I said and she smiled.

"I hope he realizes he's a very lucky man." she said and looked at him. "I mean not many girls would go running after a big green guy like him, all fearless."

"I'm not fearless." I said as I pulled my knees to my chest and stared down at him. "I'm scared shitless." I admitted and looked over at her. "I'm scared of what happened, I'm scared of what I saw, but when he ran off like that, I was mostly scared I'd never see him again." She smiled and touched my knee lightly before she looked back at him.

A little while later I had called Tabby and told her everything was okay, to which she responded that Oak Alley was pissed, for good reason, and the police were looking for us, also for good reason. She then said she couldn't believe she got to see two Avengers on her wedding day and that MeeMaw was laughing hysterically when Simon had been thrown into the side of the house. I smiled at that, and then told her I loved her and hung up. Pretty soon it was time to put the kids, Justin and Jessica to bed, which Karen let me help her do.

"He's pretty not scary for someone that big." Jessica said and I smiled lightly. "I hope he feels better."

"He will sweetie." I said to the ten year old girl. Next Justin wouldn't stop babbling about Tony. When Karen and I finally got him to go to settle down he looked up at me with large brown eyes.

"Can he be fixed?" he asked and I swallowed.

"There's nothing to fix." I said finally. He rolled over and sighed and I looked at Karen who nodded to me. We went back outside where some lawn chairs had been brought out by Bruce. Tony, Carlo, and Jasper were sitting there, each of them with a drink in their hands, talking. "Tony, call Pepper and let her know you're alive." I said to him and he laughed.

"That's what I pay you to do."

"I'm on vacation." I said as I sat down on the blanket next to the Hulk. Tony walked over and put his hand on my shoulder.

"He'll be okay." he said as he looked down at me.

"Why didn't he tell me?" I asked as I looked up at Tony. He sighed and shook his head.

"We tried to tell him to." he said. "He was... Scared. Of how you'd react."

"Well..." I sighed. "I guess some things make sense now." I said and Tony nodded.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Okay, this chapter is a 3rd person pov from Bruce's perspective. I hope I did the Hulk okay, and as for what happens when he comes back, well I can't say I honestly know how he feels every time, but this time, he's traveled long distances, he's exhausted, he's embarrassed, and he's scared. I know he may be a bit vulnerable in this chapter, but in the last chapter it was Minnie who was vulnerable, so it's her turn to be the strong one, and I hope you like it.** _

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"Well MeeMaw," Minnie's mom was saying to the older woman. "I don't think Vegas is exactly the best play for us to celebrate your 93rd birthday."

"Who asked you." the old woman said as she waved her hand. "My Sammy will go to Vegas with me, won't you? We can go see those show boys together."

"Of course I will MeeMaw." she said and Bruce smiled as MeeMaw pulled her close and kissed her cheek.

"You sure your boyfriend won't mind?"

"He won't mind, will he?" she looked over at Bruce with a sly smile. He smiled and shook his head.

"I don't know, should I chaperone?" he asked and Minnie laughed as she put her hand on his leg.

"Knowing MeeMaw… Probably." she smiled and he grinned as he put his hand over hers.

"Hey, has anyone seen Helen?" Cleo asked and Minnie stood up, it was obvious she was so used to doing everything; she had a hard time not doing little things that came up.

"I'll go check her office." she said and lightly patted Bruce's hand. He smiled as she lightly pecked his cheek, and then walked to the plantation house.

"So Bruce, Have you ever been to New Orleans before?"

"Uh, no, I haven't actually."

"Simone says you've traveled a lot."

"Yeah, I have." he nodded to her mother.

"She said, uh, Canada right?"

"Yeah, and before that I was in India."

"Oh, doing what?"

"There was a village in India, and this fever broke out, they didn't have any doctors so I went there."

"Like doctors without borders?"

"Kind of." he nodded.

"That's amazing." she sighed. "Do you think you'll continue to do that now that you're dating my daughter?"

"Well I don't know." he smiled lightly. "I'm pretty happy in New York right now."

"I'm sure you are." MeeMaw said.

"_Nothing_ is okay!" someone shouted from the shadows between the plantation house and the party. Bruce looked over, as did MeeMaw and Cecile. "Nothing Is Okay! It Was _Never_ Okay!"

"That was Simon." Cecile said and Bruce jumped up. He walked over in time to see Simon shove Minnie back, she hit the ground hard, and instantly his heart rate quickened. He didn't have time to try to talk himself down from this, he was changing, the other guy was coming out. Now.

Bruce barely had time to take his glasses off before he fell to his knees, the change to the other guy tore his clothes, he was so pissed, he couldn't see straight, he turned, his focus landing on Simon who now had his hands wrapped around Minnie's neck.

Hulk stormed forward, saw the small man squeezing Minnie's throat. Minnie looked at him; he grabbed the small man, pulled him away from Minnie who fell to the ground. Hulk threw the small man against the house; the small man broke the wall, and didn't get up. "Not Okay." Hulk growled. Hulk looked at Minnie. Two more small men were with her, but they weren't touching. Minnie was staring at Hulk. Minnie looked... Scared.

Bruce liked Minnie, Hulk knew that. Minnie looked scared of Hulk, so she was scared of Bruce. Hulk knew Minnie wasn't supposed to see this. Hulk turned, and ran away. Hulk didn't want Minnie scared.

"Bruce!" Minnie screamed in the distance, but Hulk ran.

Bruce's head was killing him, like it always did when The Other Guy took over. He didn't know where he was, but he was outside. He wondered how long it had been.

"Bruce?" he felt someone touch his face. He recognized their hands, but they sounded like they were talking through water. "Bruce?" things were starting to sound a little clearer, but he couldn't tell just yet. "Bruce, honey?"

"Minnie?" the groan from his lips sounded far away.

"Bruce, I'm here." Minnie was there? What had happened? He remembered... Simon, Minnie had gone to look for Helen, and they heard Simon shouting Bruce walked over to see what was happening, Simon shoved Minnie back, she fell to the ground hard.

The Other Guy took over. He groaned and he felt her move his head slightly, he was now resting his head on something soft. "Honey, are you okay?" she was stroking the side of his face. He reached out, and she took his hand, and held it to her face. He opened his eyes finally and looked around, blinking a few times to get the focus right, then he realized, he was indeed outside, Minnie was sitting with him, wearing a green tee shirt, and, he quickly realized to soft thing he was laying on was her legs. He reached up and ran his hand along her leg and she touched his face, drawing his eyes to hers. She looked concerned; she had been concerned about him. "Honey, tell me how many fingers I'm holding up." she held up four fingers.

"Four." he said, and Tony stepped into focus. "Tony?" he asked, before they were both doused with cold water. Minnie shrieked and jumped up, Bruce sat up as she shoved Tony.

"What the hell was that for?" she shouted at him.

"To wake him up!" Tony defended his decision. "Plus you're wearing a pretty tight tee shirt, and I mean he looks like he could use an impromptu wet tee shirt contest." She spun around and walked back over to Bruce, and knelt down next to him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she cupped his face.

"Did I hurt anyone?" he asked groggily.

"Just Simon." she said softly. "MeeMaw wants to adopt you for that." He touched her hand and she bit her lip, before looking down at him. He looked down at himself and quickly pulled the wet blanket over himself, his face turning red.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The swamp, you passed out in some people's yard." she replied. "They were nice enough to let us stay." She picked up a pile of clean clothes.

"How long have I been out?"

"About an hour."

"And how long was... The other guy in control?"

"About two hours." she said. "Most of that was spent running- What were you running from?" she asked and he shook his head.

"You." he said honestly and she stared at him in surprise. "Help me stand up." he said and she stood up quickly. He held the blanket over himself and awkwardly tried to pull the pants on.

"Here." she held the blanket up, giving him a small bit of privacy. He pulled the pants on quickly; glad the person who had given them to him wasn't too skinny or too large. They were a little loose, but they would work on the way back to the hotel. He pulled the blue shirt over his head and Minnie held out his glasses. He took them, not looking at her. This wasn't supposed to happen, she wasn't supposed to know. He put them on.

"It's cool, I've got my own ride." Tony said as he opened his briefcase of gold and red metal. He stepped into it and the suit engulfed his body. "See you there." he said before he took off flying.

"Karen, Jasper, thank you for everything." Minnie was saying to the couple who were apparently the homeowners. They hugged her, and then said something to the short looking cowboy guy who led Minnie over to a truck.

Bruce slowly followed, feeling sluggish and tired. His entire body ached and he had no energy. He got into the truck and closed the door. Minnie sat between him and the driver, she kept looking at him, but he kept his gaze focused on the window, all the way to the hotel.

"Thank you so much Cal." she said to the driver who spoke to her for a moment, Bruce was however climbing out of the truck, he walked into the lobby of the hotel, the cool marble surprised him, but he remembered he wasn't wearing shoes. Someone was suddenly hugging him; he recognized blonde hair and the smell of expensive hair products.

"Not now Dallas." he said without energy. He tried to walk to the elevator, but he was tired, he was so tired. Minnie rushed into the lobby and spoke to Dallas as she took Bruce's arm and wrapped it over her shoulders. He didn't want her this close, not while he felt like this, but with no other alternative he leaned on her. They got to the elevator and she hit the button a few times.

The doors opened and they stepped inside, Dallas ran after them, they got to Bruce's floor, he was hardly conscious as they brought him to his room, Dallas left them, Minnie helped him change, she didn't say a thing, just helped him into his pyjama pants and his own shirt, she got him into the bed, he noticed she was in his purple shirt again. He wondered if she'd take that shirt when she left him, there was no way he could look at it without seeing her in it.

Just seeing her- An image flashed into his mind, Minnie with Simon's hands around her throat- The- The Other Guy throwing Simon like throwing a rag doll. Minnie staring at him in horror. He covered his face with his hands, trying to push that image from his mind, the more he tried to concentrate on getting it out of his head, the sharper it was, he could see the tears in her eyes, the look of shock and fear etched on her face. He groaned.

"No." he groaned. "No no no." he tried to will the image gone, tried to get it to go away. He felt Minnie climb onto the bed, and wrap her arms around him. He buried his face in her chest, wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her there as she held him, his body shook with silent sobs.

He felt her running her hands through his hair, calming him. It reminded him of what his mother would do when he had a nightmare. That's all it was, he tried to tell himself. It was a nightmare. It hadn't really happened, and he's wake up in the morning with Minnie in his arms, whining about having to get up so early.

"It's okay," he heard her say softly, in that soothing tone of voice. "I'm here. It's okay Bruce." she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was okay. She was okay. He slipped into sleep, still holding her tightly.


	23. Chapter 23

**_Hey ya'll! So glad to see everyone who reviewed, thank you soooo much! If I get two more reviews that puts me at 100! So, if I get two more reviews, whoever is the 100th reviewer, I'll dedicate a chapter to you! Bribery, I know... Is it working? lol. This a big chapter, the explanation, talking about what happened, seeing how she takes it (Who am I kidding, we all know how she takes it!). Next chapter will be her dealing with her family. That should be... Fuuuuun. ;) Also, we get to see the extent of Simon's injuries (yaaay injured Simon!) And maybe some more of the Avengers... Who knows? Well, anyways, I hope you like this chapter. _**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. She's kind of in shock and trying to understand while keeping a level head._ **

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The next morning I woke up to someone knocking on the door. I looked down at Bruce who was still holding onto me tightly, he hadn't moved. "Bruce, honey, there's someone at the door." I said softly. He didn't let go. I sighed, and managed to finally wriggle out of his desperate grasp, and then move to the door. I had put the sliding lock thing on the door the night before, that way even if someone did get the key, they wouldn't get in. I left that lock on, and opened the door.

"Is that _thing_ in there?" Gwen demanded.

"Fuck. Off." I said to her before I slammed the door. I walked back to the bed as she continued to knock on the door; I looked down at Bruce, then went and got a glass and filled it with water from the fridge. I climbed into bed with him and put the glass on the bedside table, and then I ran my fingers through his hair. He stirred lightly as I continued to lightly run my fingers through his hair. When he woke up he looked up at me and I smiled gently.

"Hey." I said softly to him. I picked up the water I had poured for him and handed it to him. "Sit up, take a drink." I said and he did as I told him, when he had finished the entire glass of water I took it and set it down. "Are you feeling up to talking?"

"There's really no avoiding it anymore." he said and I shook my head as I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my arms on them. I rested my chin on my arms and looked at him curiously. "It started as an experiment to make people immune to gamma radiation. I let a colleague inject me with some serum they claimed would make me immune, something they had tested, but not on humans. They exposed me to high levels of gamma radiation, much higher than any human should be exposed to. It reacted with whatever they had just injected into me, and I changed into... The other guy." I nodded slowly. "Are you understanding so far?"

"Kind of..." I said and he raised an eyebrow making me smile. "I don't know what gamma rays are." I admitted and he nodded.

"Gamma rays are the highest energy form of light." he said as he crossed his legs, facing me. "It's a type of radiation, like what's present in a nuclear blast." he said, and I got the feeling he was giving me the shortest possible answer, but it was enough to know it was dangerous.

"Oh Bruce," I said softly as I reached forward and lightly ran my hand over his cheek. He touched my hand and I sighed. "What happened next?"

"I had hurt someone I worked with, someone I knew, and the colleague I had worked for the Armed Forces, they were the ones who were backing the research. Turns out, they were trying to bring back the Super Soldier project, like Captain America. And, well, according to them, I was exactly what they were looking for. But not me, the other guy." he sighed. "I left the states, I fled, and eventually made my way to Rio de Janeiro, I stayed there for five years." he said and I nodded. "I worked at a soda bottling plant, I studied meditation, and breathing techniques a little martial arts..." he said and I smiled. "But I had to be careful. One day I sliced my finger open. My blood got into a bottle, and some poor person in Wisconsin got radiation poisoning."

"Oh shit they were able to track the bottles, weren't they?" I asked with wide eyes and he nodded. "Sorry, continue." I said covering my mouth.

"Yeah, well, you're right, they tracked me down, and I turned for the first time in a long time at that point." he sighed. "I got away, managed to get back to the states, found this guy I had been emailing with who turned out to be a cellular biologist, that a-"

"I know what that is smart ass." I said and he smiled. "If I don't know what something is, I'll ask." he grinned and I shook my head.

"Anyway, a friend and I went to see him, meanwhile, this soldier who had seen the other guy in Brazil decided to join the super soldier program, he was injected with something similar to what Steve was injected with, but it made him power crazy." he explained. "The cellular biologist had duped my blood and tried out this cure on me, I don't go into it, but it seemed to have worked. Until the super soldier showed up and the biologist injected him with my blood."

"Oh shit." I muttered. "Is that what that... Thing was, attacking Harlem?"

"Yeah." he said softly. "Hard to believe that was a man once, huh?"

"Yeah." I breathed. "So, when does the other guy come out?"

"It used to be any time I was angry or excited, any time I really got my heart racing. I can control it for the most part, but sometimes I just... Lose control." he said softly and I nodded slowly.

"Like that night after our date..." I said slowly, he nodded as he ran his hand through his hair. "I shouldn't have- I'm sorry."

"No," he grabbed my hand. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in years." he softly kissed my knuckles. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to scare you, but then I went and I did that anyway." he sighed as he shook his head.

"You did scare me Bruce." I said softly and he looked away. "You scared me when you came out of the shadows, and you were... Different. You scared me when you showed me what you were capable of," I continued. "But most of all, you scared me when you took off like that." I reached out and touched his face, making him look back at me. "I thought I'd never see you again, and more than anything, that thought terrified me." I said as I looked into his dark eyes.

I kissed him longly, he didn't respond at first, but then it seemed to click for him, I wasn't freaking out, I wasn't upset (I mean, I was a little, but I wasn't going to bring that up now), and I wasn't leaving. I was kissing him. He wrapped his arms around me and I finally broke the kiss. "You say you're in control of the other guy for the most part, right?" I asked and he nodded. "I can live with that." I said and he stared at me, he obviously had no idea what to say. I just smiled and climbed onto his lap so I was facing him, my legs on either side of him; he wrapped his arm around my waist and held me there as we kissed. He pulled back and lightly ran his thumb over the small cut Simon had inflicted on my lip, then his fingertips over the bruising around my neck.

"Come on." he said. I got off of him and followed him into the bathroom where he picked up a washcloth and got it wet before he lightly dabbed away at the small cut. "Have you taken care of this?"

"No honey, I've been too busy taking care of you." I said as I sat on the side of the bathtub. I looked over at it and then at him. I turned on the taps and closed the drain before there was another knock on the door. "When I get back, I want you to be in that tub." I said. I went to the door and opened it only to stare in surprise at who was on the other side of the door. "Steve." I said and Steve Rogers looked me over before he blushed. I realized I was still only wearing Bruce's purple shirt and I cleared my throat. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Minnie, I uh, we, that is got word that Dr. Banner had... Turned."

"He had." I said. "But he's fine now."

"Minnie we need to take him into SHIELD for debriefing."

"Well he's a little busy at the moment." I said as I looked over at the bathroom. Bruce was standing in the doorway.

"Minnie, he's not in trouble, Director Fury just needs to figure out what set him off this time."

"I can tell you exactly what set him off." I said. "It was someone trying to strangle me. Bruce saw, he changed, he took care of it, and he's fine now." I said sharply.

"I know you're just trying to help him, but he needs to come in." he said softly and I nodded as I crossed my arms.

"Well I'll talk to him about it, but right now, he's in the bathroom." I said and Steve nodded. "Look, uh, I'm in room 906, why don't you go there, hang out, order some room service, oh, and have Dallas bring me some clean clothes."

"Actually, he already sent those for you." he said and through the crack in the door he handed me a bag with some clothes in it. "He's how I found out where Dr. Banner was."

"Well, that's nice, but seriously now Steve, I need to get back to him."

"Minnie you can't protect him forever."

"Watch me." I said before I shut the door in his face.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Hi ya'll! Thanks to everyone who keep reviewing, my 100th reviewer was the lovely Xx-Waking-Dreamer-xX but thank you to everyone who reviews! I love it! I hope you like this chapter. I think you will, but I hope you do. **_

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When I went back to the bathroom he was pulling his shirt over his head. I went to the bath and checked the water, before I turned the taps off. "I have to go in."

"Not until you're feeling better." I said and he smiled lightly as he looked at me.

"Why do you take such good care of me?" he asked as I walked over and untied the string on his waistband.

"Because someone has to." I said softly. "Now, in." I said. He smiled lightly and stepped into the bathtub. I opened the bag that Dallas had sent up with Steve and pulled the clothes out, a pair of jeans, a white top with a black lace bow on the left shoulder to my collarbone, a pair of black flats, and a cropped black leather jacket with a few cosmetics at the bottom of the bag, along with my shampoo, conditioner, and tooth brush. All of the clothes had price tags on them.

"I don't know how I feel about Dallas knowing what size underwear you wear." Bruce said as I pulled the tags off of the new white underwear set Dallas had bought me. "Why is he buying you all these clothes anyway?"

"It's Dallas' philosophy that the day after the shit hits the fan, you'd best look fabulous while you clean up the mess." I said and he laughed. I walked over to the shower and turned it on, the glass was all frosted so no one could see in, not that I cared either way at this point.

After taking a quick shower I got out and wrapped my hair in a towel and wrapped my body in one. Bruce had his eyes closed, and his head resting on the back of the tub. I got dressed and brushed my teeth before I put on the makeup that Dallas had sent over. I heard Bruce get out of the tub and he wrapped the towel I had set down for him around himself. He went to the bedroom and got dressed while I finished my makeup quickly.

"How did you get all that on so fast?" Bruce asked when I walked out of the bathroom, my hair in a loose braid hanging over my left shoulder.

"What?" I asked as I helped him button his shirt up.

"That makeup, two seconds ago you were barely starting."

"Years of practice." I said with a smile. I had covered the cup in my lip with a red lipstick, and dusted my eyes with a smoky look.

"Are you ready to go see your family?" he asked and I sighed.

"No." I huffed. "It's none of their business. It's between me and you." I said and he wrapped his arm around my waist. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"You don't need to protect Me." he said softly. "I've been dealing with the consequences of my actions for years."

"I want to protect you." I pouted and he chuckled. He looked down at me and I lifted my head off of his shoulder.

"We can't pretend like this never happened."

"Why not?" I asked.

"What are we going to do, just stay in this room forever, have room service meals for the rest of our lives, and order things online when we need it?"

"Good idea." I said as I started to unbutton his shirt. He laughed and caught my hands.

"I can either face them with you, or without you." he said and I sighed. "I'd prefer it was with you."

"Okay." I said, and fixed the buttons. He wrapped his arm around me and we walked out the door to the elevator. We went downstairs to my room, where I needed to pick up my cell phone charger for the car. My phone had died sometime in the night, and I was sure I had about fifty billion messages.

"Sammy!" I blinked in surprised as Shay jumped up from my couch. Steve and Dallas were there too. Dallas jumped up and ran to us, he threw his arms around me tightly, and I held him for a good minute before he turned and looked at Bruce for a moment, then threw his arms around him too.

"Okay Dallas." he said as he patted his back. Shay walked over and hugged me quickly.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she looked at the bruises around my neck. "You know Dallas can cover that-"

"No." I said and she stared at me. "No, if I'm going to face all of them, I want them to see what happened."

"Well, uh, your parents and siblings are uh, with MeeMaw having lunch in her suite, I think they're planning on going to the hospital later."

"He doesn't deserve visitors!" Dallas said as he looked at my neck. "Oh, I wish you'd let me cover that up."

"They need to see what caused it." I said and he sighed.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said and Bruce looked at him. "You know you need to come in."

"I need to do this first." Bruce said to his fellow Avenger. Steve sighed and I took Bruce's hand. We went to MeeMaw's suite and I knocked on the door.

"Oh my god, honey!" my mom said when she opened the door. She hesitated when she saw Bruce, but threw her arms around me.

"Mom, I'm fine." I said as she fussed over me. "It's just where Simon grabbed me, it's sore." I said and she sighed and looked at Bruce again who looked down. "_Mom._" I said sternly.

"Come on in." she said and opened the door. MeeMaw and my mom and dad had shared a two bedroom suite, with a huge living room in the middle; it had two couches, a love seat, and a few armchairs.

"Hi honey!" MeeMaw called when she saw us. My dad instantly stood up and walked over to me. He looked at my neck, and then pulled me into a bone crushing hug.

"Tap out, tap out!" I gasped as I tapped his shoulder. He let go of me and looked at Bruce, I grabbed Bruce's hand and looked at him with a small smile. "Dad, if it wasn't for Bruce, I'd be hurt a lot more then I am." I said quickly. "And I mean, I know it's a lot to take in, but-"

"Sam, shut up." Dad said to me and I stopped talking.

"Nathan." MeeMaw said suddenly. Dad turned around.

"Mom?" he asked as MeeMaw gestured him over. He knelt down in front of her and she hit his shoulder.

"Be nice, he's either your future son in law, or I'll adopt him and make him your brother." she threatened. I couldn't help but laugh. I looked at Bruce who was turning red.

"Bruce, I don't know what to say." my dad said finally as he walked over.

"I understand."

"You seem to have won over the most important people in my life," he continued. "And I'm grateful that you saved my baby girl, but if I ever find out about you turning on her as that... Thing. I'll do everything in my power to make sure you end up in Area 51 for the rest of your life, so help me god."

"Dad, he's not an alien!" I said as I hit his arm.

"I understand." Bruce said as he and my dad ignored me.

"Look, uh, Bruce," Sonny said as he walked over. "I'm sorry about whatever happened to you man, uh, you know, just make sure you keep an eye on this one huh?" he nodded to me and Bruce smiled. "I guess it'll be a job for both of you huh?" he asked awkwardly.

"Something like that, yeah." Bruce said.

"Tell them you're coming to Christmas." MeeMaw said and Bruce laughed. "Tell them!"

"We'll see MeeMaw." I said.

"My kids and my husband think you're amazing." Abby said as she walked over. "I think what you did was wrong, you could have killed Simon." she said with her arms crossed over her chest. I felt his grip tighten on my hand lightly. "But I understand why you did it." she looked at me. "And I'm sure if any one of us had that in us, we'd have done the same thing." she looked back at Bruce, and smiled at him. "Thank you." she said and he smiled.

"I'm sorry that I changed like that." he said to them. "I can usually control it, but the moment I saw Minnie in danger, I couldn't talk myself down from that." he shook his head. "Which is why I ran."

"Why?" Sonny asked.

"I didn't want to scare anyone. I guess The Other Guy knew that." he said and I smiled lightly. "We should go." he said to me.

"Where?" Abby asked.

"I want to check in on Simon before I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Sonny asked.

"To discuss it would be a matter of national security." I said, repeating the thing Agent Coulson had once said to me when I asked where they were taking Tony. I had thought they were kidnapping him, and I had jumped on an agent, resulting in me getting thrown over said agent's shoulder and onto the floor. It really was a wonder I hadn't been seriously injured on the job.

When we got to the hospital, Gwen was in the room with Simon. "You did this to him!" she said when we walked into the room.

"He tried to kill me Gwen." I said to her.

"He would never do that, you're just confused."

"Is this me being confused?" I asked as I showed her my neck.

"How do I know that _thing_ didn't do this to you?" she scowled.

"Gwen, at this point in the game, I don't give a flying _fuck_ what you think." I said as I stepped in closer to her. Her double chin wobbled in anger as she looked between me and Bruce furiously. "But I'll do tell you what I do care about. I care about the fact that he's got outstanding warrants, and you've been harboring a fugitive, not to mention the fact that you're supporting his drug habit." I said and she glared at me.

"Prove it." she scowled.

"I already have." I said and smiled. "That's the cool thing about working for Tony Stark, I find out all kinds of things about people." I said. "Leave."

"Why, so you can finish the job?" she asked as she glared at Bruce.

"Gwen, just, for once in your life, don't argue, and leave the goddamn room!" I said and she huffed before she walked over to the room. I walked over to the bed and looked down at Simon who opened his eyes and looked at me. He smiled lightly.

"Hey Sam." he said, his voice was kind of hoarse.

"Nice to see you again Simon." I said and he sighed. "What's the verdict?"

"Broken collarbone, couple of cracked ribs, sprained hip, dislocated elbow, and my back hurts like a bitch." he said. "Nothing I don't deserve." he said and looked over at Bruce. "I don't blame you man, I want you to know that." he said to Bruce who walked over. "If I'd have been in my right mind, and seen what I was doing, I'd have done the same thing as you. I mean, maybe not the whole turning big and green and stuff, but, uh, I'd have kicked my own ass." he said.

"Is that why you aren't accepting pain killers?" I asked and he nodded. "Simon, I don't hate you." I said and he looked at me curiously. "I pity you."

"You know," he groaned. "I almost wish you hated me." he smiled lightly, and groaned in pain. "Bruce, right?" he asked and Bruce nodded. "I'd shake your hand, but, uh..." he held out a fist. "Take care of her. It's obvious you do way better a job then I ever could." Bruce nodded and bumped his fist against Simon's. "Sam, I'm sorry." he said.

"Move out of Gwen's house." I said. "And get your shit together Simon. You're a smart guy. You could do so much better then all this." He just smiled and hit the bed adjustment button so he could lay back again.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked as we walked out of the hospital.

"That was the real Simon." I said to him. "The Simon without drugs, the Simon that I was engaged to." I nodded. "I think, it's time we just end the chapter on this part of our lives, because I am so tired of the drama." I said. He smiled and kissed me lightly. "I want to go home Bruce. I hate this heat, and I know it's going to be hot in New York, but I don't want to be here anymore, my hair is a mess, my life is a mess, and I just want to go home."

"You know there's one more thing I have to do before we close that chapter." he said and I raised an eyebrow curiously. He nodded at a SUV that had pulled up. Out hopped Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, along with Steve and Tony.

"Doc, I'm afraid we've got to bring you in." Agent Barton said, his eyes landing on me. BrBRBR "Don't." I said as I took his hand.

"It's alright." Bruce said as he pried his hand out of my grasp. "We're just going to have a little chat."

"Bruce, don't." I said and he smiled before he cupped my face and kissed me gently.

"I'll be fine." he said gently. "I promise." I bit my lip and nodded as he walked away.

"Tony." I looked at Tony who walked over to me.

"I won't let them get to him." he said as he ruffled my hair lightly, and then looked at my neck in displeasure. "You should cover that up."

"Get out of here." I said and he grinned.


	25. Chapter 25

**_Hey ya'll! So this is the next chapter, this is a fluff chapter, with the introduction of an old friend of Bruce's. It's kind of a filler chapter, but it' sort of hinting at the whole 'no sex' problem they have. Because, if you're in a relationship that is a problem._ **

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When we got home- Home home, like New York home, I had stayed an extra day in New Orleans and just took Tony's private jet with him, Pepper, Bruce, and Dallas. I curled up in as large seat next to Bruce who wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He kissed the top of my head and I smiled. "Ready to go home?" he asked and I nodded. "I know you are." he said and I looked up at him.

"Are you staying in New York?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, of course."

"For how long?"

"I don't know." he admitted. "It's looking like its going to be a long time." he smiled. I smiled lightly and rested my head back on him.

A few weeks went by, Tony proposed to Pepper, who of course said yes, it was pretty funny, like most major developments in their life it started with them bickering, and ended with Tony saying "Well if that's how you feel about it, why don't you just marry me?" which shut Pepper up pretty quickly. It also made my life that much busier, as much as Pepper tried to help, Tony being- Well, Tony- didn't help. I walked into my bedroom, kicked my shoes off and fell face first on my bed. My cell phone rang somewhere and without lifting my head I located it, and brought it to my ear.

"No." my voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Minnie, are you okay?" Bruce asked.

"No." I replied.

"You feeling up for going out and doing something?"

"No."

"Is that all you can say?"

"Yes." I replied and laughed as I rolled over. "What do you want to do?" I asked as I stretched out on my bed.

"I was thinking we could go out to dinner, if you're up for it."

"How dressy?" I asked and he sighed.

"Casual?"

"Sure, where do you want to meet?"

"Actually, I'm downstairs." he said. I got up and went to my window and opened it. He waved up to me and I waved to him.

"Come on up, I need to get ready." I said. The doorman let him up and a few minutes later I heard him knock on the door. I opened it and pulled him toward me, kissing him as he walked into the apartment.

"It's only been," he laughed through the kiss. "Three days." I hooked my arm around his neck and pulled him down closer.

"If you want me to stop, just say so." I said and he kissed me again.

"I never said that." he said softly and I pulled him into another long kiss. We made our way to my couch, still kissing like love struck teenagers, until I finally pulled away. I bit my lip and looked down before I looked back at him.

"I should get ready." I said and he groaned as I started to move away, he quickly grabbed me and pulled me onto his lap. I gasped as he wrapped his arms around me and lightly kissed my neck. "Bruce, we both know what's going to happen." I said, and let out a small gasp as he kissed a particularly sensitive spot on my neck. "What's getting into you today?" I asked as I looked back at him.

"Maybe I missed you."

"What happened to Mister: "It's only been three days"." I asked, using air quotes as I imitated him.

"It's been a long three days." he said and I smiled. I laughed and kissed him one last time before I got up and walked into my bedroom.

"What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Oh, I'm going out with Pepper and Dallas for the weekend." I said apologetically. "Sorry." I slipped into a pair of tight blue jeans and pulled my shirt off, I finally settled on a white and blue shirt striped short sleeved shirt with a ruffled bib.

"Where are you going?" he asked as I tied my hair into a messy bun. I swapped out my diamond studs for a pair of silver hoops and pulled on a pair of black bootie heels that looked dark blue when light hit them.

"Dallas started dating this guy who has a place in the Hamptons who invited us out for the weekend." I said as I applied a little lipstick and fixed my eyeliner where it had smudged a little bit. "I hope you weren't planning anything big or anything..." I said and walked out of the bedroom. "Ready." he looked over the couch at me and smiled as I picked up my purse.

"You look great." he said and smiled.

We ended up going out to this cute Italian place in the village, then walking to a bakery I knew that wasn't too far from there.

"Honey, come here," I said as I looked over at him. "You've got powdered sugar on your face." I smiled as I turned him to face me. He laughed as I brushed the powered sugar off of his face and shirt, then kissed him. His lips tasted sweet from the dessert we had just shared, and for a second there I believed nothing could break our moment up, until I heard a female voice from a few yards away call his name. We broke apart and I raised an eyebrow as a woman came walking towards us.

"Bruce." she smiled and his jaw literally dropped.

"Betty." he said and I looked at him curiously. "How- What are you doing in New York?"

"I was brought in on a consulting job for a few weeks." she said and smiled. "I can't believe you're here." she said before she hugged him tightly. I stood back for a second, before he pulled back and cleared his throat, and then grabbed my hand.

"Uh, Betty, this is my girlfriend Minnie. Honey, this is Dr. Betty Ross, an old friend of mine." he said and I smiled as she looked me over before smiling lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, uh, this is my husband, Dr. Leonard Samson." she turned toward the man with a smile as she put her hand on his arm. "Honey, this is Dr. Bruce Banner, I'm sure you remember him."

"It's good to see you again Bruce." the man said as he shook Bruce's hand. "And you are?"

"This is my girlfriend Minnie." Bruce said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Nice to meet you Doctor." I said as I shook the other man's hand.

"And you Minnie." he smiled.

"So, Bruce, what are you doing here?"

"I'm working with tony Stark." he said and her face lit up.

"Really, that's who I'm consulting with!" she said with a grin.

"So Leo, you just along for the ride?" I asked and he smiled.

"Yeah something like that." he said with a smile, then looked at his watch. "Uh, hon, we should head out."

"You're right, Bruce, I guess I'll be seeing more of you." she smiled.

"We should all get dinner together, catch up." Dr. Samson said and Bruce nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds nice, Betty, I'll see you later." he said and she left grinning. "How weird seeing her here." he said softly.

"Who is she?" I asked and he sighed.

"She's actually my ex." he said softly.

"Before or after..."

"Before... And after." he added the last part as an afterthought.

"Oh." I said and he nodded before he took my hand and lanced our fingers together.

"So I was thinking I'd stay with you tonight." He said, changing an obviously sore subject.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing." I smiled as we started to walk again, in the other direction of where Betty and her husband went.


	26. Chapter 26

When I woke up the next morning Bruce was still sleeping. I got out of bed and washed my face before I put a small bag on my side of the bed. I threw clothes and shoes into it, and went to the bathroom; I took a quick shower, then got dressed. I scrunched a little styling product in my hair and brushed my teeth. I brought all of the stuff into the bedroom where Bruce was sitting up and stretching. "Morning." I leaned over the bag, knocking it and some of my clothes out of the bag, I kissed him, and he smiled through the kiss.

"Morning." he said and put my bag upright. He picked up the clothes that had fallen out and paused at a pair of short denim shorts.

"Thanks." I said as I took them and put them in the bag.

"Aren't those a little... Short?" he asked finally and I looked at him.

"Well it's not like I'll be wearing them for very long." I shrugged. "I'm just wearing them to walk over to the beach."

"Right." he said as he got out of the bed. He went over to the clothes he had worn the night before and started to pull his pants on.

"You know, I've been thinking..." I said as he zipped his pants up.

"What's that?" he asked.

"If you're gonna keep staying here and everything, maybe you should leave some of your clothes and stuff over here. That way you don't have to wear the same clothes back to the mansion." I shrugged.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing." he smiled and I grinned.

"Also," I said as I went to the bathroom. "I bought you a tooth brush." I said and he walked into bathroom. "I put it in this drawer." I said as I pointed to the drawer.

"You bought me a tooth brush?" he asked and I looked at him.

"Well, yeah." I said and smiled as I walked over and lightly kissed his chin. "I mean, I like you and everything, but they don't call it morning breath for nothing." I shrugged and he laughed as I walked out of the bathroom. I finished throwing some things into my bags while he brushed his teeth and washed his face from the sound of it. I made a pot of coffee and was buttering some toast when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, it's us!_" Dallas said into the phone. "_You ready?"_

"Uh, yeah, give me a few minutes huh?"

"Okay, but hurry uuup!" he sang before hanging up.

"Bruce," I said as I slipped my shoes on. "There's coffee in the kitchen, uh, feel free to eat anything in the kitchen- oh, except that sushi, I think that's probably gone bad, I just haven't had time to clean out the fridge, and uh, you know, just to be safe, try to stay away from the leftovers, I'm kind of bad about that." I said as I finished buckling my sandals. I looked up and smiled seeing him leaning in the doorway to the bathroom, watching me. "Feel free to stay here if you want," I continued as he walked over to me and took my hand. He pulled me up and wrapped my arms around his neck before he kissed me longly.

"When will you be back?"

"Sunday night." I said and he nodded. "My landlord has an extra key, I already told him you'd probably be coming for it, just get it from him, and have a good weekend." I said before my phone rang again. "I'm coming." I said to Dallas. "I have to go." I said to Bruce who nodded and let go of me. I grabbed my bag and shoved a hat on my head before I went to the living room, checked I had everything, and then turned back and kissed him again.

"Go, have fun, call me when you get there." he said and I nodded before I left.

"Have a good weekend!" I called as I went down the hall.

"What took you so long?" Dallas asked as I put my stuff in the trunk of his rental car.

"Nothing, Bruce stayed over last night." I said and he looked back at me.

"You guys still not having sex?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Not by choice." I said as I climbed into the back seat of the convertible. "Pep, you sure Tony's okay with you going away for the weekend?"

"Yeah, he's working with this new consultant on a special project, he'll hardly notice I'm gone." she said.

"Oh, you mean Dr. Ross." I said and she nodded.

"Well it's Ross-Samson, but yeah." she said. "Why?"

"I met her last night." I sighed as Dallas pulled away from the curb. In another life, Dallas was a New York city cab driver.

"Who is she?"

"She is a cellular biologist, and Bruce's ex." I said making Dallas look back at me.

"You're leaving your boyfriend alone for the weekend with his ex?" he asked in shock.

"_Eyes on the road!_" Pepper and I both shouted at him. When we got to the house I let out a low whistle.

"Who is this guy you're seeing?" Pepper asked and he grinned.

"Oh, he's the heir to some crazy big Brazilian import export company." he grinned.

"Yeah I can see that." I said and he laughed. The door opened and a very attractive man with dark hair and dark skin walked out and over to us.

"Hi honey." he smiled before kissing Dallas who grinned like a love struck fool when he pulled away.

"Girls, this is Felipe," he said as he wrapped his arm around the man's shoulders. "Felipe, this is my Minnie, she's practically a sister, and this is Pepper, who is practically her sister."

"Any sister of Dallas is a sister of mine." Felipe smiled before walking over and kissing both of my cheeks.

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you." I smiled and he walked over and did the same to Pepper.

"You two look like sisters." he said as he looked at us both. "But enough of genetics; Come, come, let me show you to your rooms." he said as he wrapped his arm around Dallas.

"Okay, tell me this place isn't amazing?" I asked Pepper who laughed when I walked into her room.

"It's so relaxing here." she sighed. There was a knock on the door and Dallas came prancing in.

"Isn't he delicious?" he asked with a grin.

"Very cute." I nodded.

"Is he from Brazil?" Pepper asked

"Yeah."

"Where did you meet him?"

"At Tony's last party, you guys do business with his father." he sighed. "I told you I knew my life partner was at that party." He snapped his fingers suddenly. "Oh, right, uh, Felipe asked if you wanted to go to the beach?" he asked and I looked at Pepper who grinned.

"What better way to start the weekend?" she asked and I jumped up.

"Let me go change!" I grinned as I ran to my room. When I got into my tan bathing suit I grabbed my shorts Bruce had commented on earlier in the day and a button down white shirt, I pulled on some sandals and met Pepper in the hallway who was wearing a purple loose over shirt, and a pair of tan shorts and sandals. We went downstairs and to the kitchen where Felipe was pouring some rum into the blender.

"Hello little sisters!" he grinned as he took a handful of ice and dropped it into the blender. "You girls like Mai Tais?" he asked as he put another handful of ice in the blender.

"I know I do." I ginned.

"You know the secret to the perfect mai tai?" he asked, as he put the lid on the blender. He picked up a quarter piece of pineapple and put it in the glass, and ran it along the sides. "Line the glass with the juice of a fresh pineapple." he picked up a quarter of lime and put it along the rim of the glass. "Then lime around the rim. Works every time."

"Sounds delicious." Pepper said and Felipe grinned before he turned on the blender.

"Do you ladies eat pork?"

"Generally, no, I mean, bacon when I'm depressed, but not really." I said.

"Well, no being depressed this weekend." he said. "I'll let my cook know, no pork for Minnie, and for Pepper?" he asked looking at her.

"Generally I try to stay away from it."

"Very good, tonight we have chicken, yes?"

"Sounds delicious." I smiled.

"Felipe," we all turned as young man walked in and smiled at us. "You must be Dallas' friends."

"This is Minnie," Felipe touched my hand, and then touched Pepper's "And this is Pepper. Ladies, this is my cousin Diego."

"Hi." we both grinned as he walked in.

"Ladies." he smiled charmingly at us. "Why don't you go enjoy the private beach? I'll bring your drinks out in a moment." he winked and we both nodded with a giggle.

"Oh wow, he's adorable!" Pepper gasped as we went out to the beach.

"You know who he looks like?" I asked as we went to the beach, shedding our over shirts. It was still light out and I wanted to go in the water before it was dark.

"Who?"

"Antonio Bandares, but like younger, and with lighter hair."

"Oh I can totally see that." she said.

"Oh my god!" Dallas said as he ran over to us. "Did you see the eye candy?" he asked plopping down in the sand next to us.

"We were just discussing him." I said as I stood up and unzipped my shorts. I slid them off and grinned. "How do you think the water is?"

"I think it's ready for you." I turned around and shrieked as Diego picked me up around the waist, and ran towards the water, he went running in as I held onto his shoulders and he dropped me in.

"That was Not Fair!" I said as I splashed him. Pepper was taking pictures on her phone and Dallas was cheering as I stood up with a grin.

"I'm sorry Minnie, I couldn't help it." Diego said as he helped me up. I shook my hair out and he laughed as I flipped my- now wet- hair from my eyes.

"Darling," Dallas said as he stepped into my room late that night.

"Hmm?" I asked as I finished brushing out my hair.

"What do you think of Felipe?"

"I think he's absolutely marvelous darling." I said in a posh English accent.

"Isn't he just delicious?"

"I'll leave that for you to know." I said with a wink. He laughed and I braided my hair.

"What about his cousin?"

"What about him?" I asked with a laugh. "He's young, and cocky."

"Gorgeous though, isn't he?"

"In that weird, absolutely young and perfect way." I said and he laughed. "What is he like, twenty two?"

"He's twenty." he said and I laughed.

"He's not even old enough to drink!" I said and he grinned. "Oh shit," I muttered. "I forgot to call Bruce." I picked my phone up and groaned at the time. "Do you think he'll still be awake?"

"If you don't want to wake him, you could always just try in the morning." he shrugged.

"No, I promised to call tonight." I said and Dallas stood up. "Dallas," he looked back at me. "Diego is cute and all, but he's not a game changer." I said and he smiled.

"Honey, I never expected him to be. You love your man, I get it. But they don't call it eye candy for nothing." he grinned before he walked out of the room.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Hey ya'll! This chapter is from Bruce's point of view, things are going to get a little tense, and the other guy might even make an appearance in later chapters, who knows? Also- I wouldn't put it past Tony to hack a cell phone. Just sayin' **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. She's being good, but it doesn't show.** _

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When Minnie left the apartment, ready to enjoy herself at a much needed girl's weekend (Well, girls and Dallas, and Dallas' boyfriend...) in the Hamptons, Bruce finished getting dressed. He remembered what Minnie had said about not eating the leftovers in the fridge and went to check it out. He poured himself a cup of coffee and added the appropriate amounts of cream and sugar, and opened the refrigerator.

He briefly wondered how it was they had been together for a month and a half he had never needed to open the refrigerator. He pulled the trash can over to the fridge and shook his head as he looked inside of take out container after takeout container. Judging by this collection of food, no one could say Minnie was afraid to try new things. Mexican, Cajun, Thai, Chinese, Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, food from the German deli, desserts from the Russian bakery, it was like a UN meeting in her kitchen.

He chuckled at the thought of the world leaders in Minnie's kitchen, and continued to throw the food out, at this rate, her entire fridge needed to be thrown away and considered a chemical threat. He finished his coffee and carried the now very full bag of trash out to the trash chute in the hallway. He dropped it in, and went back to the apartment and put his socks and shoes on, then put his glasses on and locked the bottom lock on her door, and then went downstairs. He went to the apartment manager's office and got the spare key she had left for him and let the doorman know he was going to be staying there so they wouldn't have a problem.

When his taxi let him off at Stark Tower he scanned his thumbprint before the door opened. He went to the elevator, ignoring the people around, while the Avengers may live on the top floors while they were around, it was still a Stark Industries building. He went to the private elevator and scanned his thumbprint again and stepped into the elevator when it hit ground floor. "Good morning Dr. Banner." Jarvis' voice.

"Good morning Jarvis." he said. "A floor please." A was code for Avengers floor. It was where they all stayed when they did stay.

"Yes Sir Dr. Banner." the AI said, and the elevator started moving. "I expect Ms. Strong will be enjoying her vacation?" Leave it to Tony stark to create an AI that engaged in small talk.

"I hope so, she needs it." Bruce had felt a little funny about chatting with Jarvis at first, but these days, it was almost like talking to a friend.

"She has been rather stressed lately I've noticed." Jarvis responded. "But she has always enjoyed the Hamptons. A Dr. Ross-Samson is to be working with you today in lab 12 with Mr. Stark."

"Will Dr. Samson be joining us?"

"I'm afraid not Dr. Banner."

"When is Dr. Ross-Samson joining us?"

"She's already here sir."

"Great." he sighed. They got to the floor and he stepped out of the elevator, he went to the room he stayed in when he stayed there and grabbed some clothes, he went to the bathroom and turned the shower on before he undressed and stepped into the warm stream. When he finished in the shower he shaved, got dressed, and went downstairs to the labs. He would have to get used to seeing Betty again, as she worked with Tony who was drinking that weird green health drink he always drank. She moved to the white board and wrote something down. He sighed, then punched in his access code, and pushed open the door.

"Morning honey." Tony grinned and Bruce rolled his eyes. "Stay to see red off?" he asked. "Or did you two decide to spend the morning in bed?"

"Sure, for about as long as you and Pepper did." Bruce said and Tony grinned.

"Morning Bruce." Betty smiled and he nodded to her.

"Morning." he said. "So what are we working on?"

"You, actually." Tony said and took another drink of that green crap before he grinned.

"So where did your girlfriend go?" Betty asked later as she was taking blood from Bruce's arm. He thought back to the time he was doing that in Tony's basement lab, Minnie running her hand lightly down his arm, trying to make him relax. He smiled lightly at that thought, about them joking about her nonexistent career in nursing, that could never happen, she was far too scared of needles. He remembered watching the color drain from her face when she pulled the needle out of his arm, and he felt a little guilty about that.

"Hm?" he looked up at Betty. "I'm sorry Betty, what?"

"Thought I lost you there for a second." she smiled. "Where did your girlfriend go?"

"Oh, uh, her Pepper and her friend Dallas went to the Hamptons for the weekend." he said, putting a cotton ball over the area. He taped it down and put his glasses back on.

"Yeah, they've been there for about an hour now." Tony said and Bruce looked at him in surprise.

"How can you tell?"

"Pepper's got a new contact in her phone." he said as he turned his computer screen.

"You hacked into Pepper's phone?"

"Yeah, Minnie's too." he said as he slid Pepper's information to the side of the screen and brought up Minnie's. "She's got the same new number, someone named Felipe."

"Yeah, I think that's Dallas' new boyfriend."

"Huh, Dallas got himself a rich boy toy." Tony muttered as he looked through Minnie's phone.

"Other way around." Bruce said and Tony made a face.

A few hours went by and Betty came into the lab holding two plates with slices of pizza on them. "If I remember correctly," she said and he looked up. "You have the bad tendency to work all day without eating."

"Oh, yeah, uh, Minnie usually kicks my ass into eating something around this time." he smiled. "Thanks."

"So how did you two meet anyways?"

"Uh, well, she's Tony's assistant. He's an Avenger. We met during that whole Loki in New York thing last year."

"I thought you said you've only been together a month?" Betty asked and he nodded.

"When did you get married?" he asked and she smiled lightly.

"About a year later." she said softly and he knew what she meant. "I thought I'd never see you again." she lightly touched his hand and he moved it instantly. "I-"

"I'm sorry." he said as he stood up and walked out of the lab. Tony was in his penthouse, looking through Pepper's phone still. Bruce caught a brief glimpse of a picture of Minnie before Tony wiped the screen clean. "What was that?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, digging through Pepper's phone, looking at old pictures and stuff." he shrugged. "It wasn't anything."

"If it wasn't anything, why'd you wipe the screen?"

"Because I finally got rid of her, why would I want to look at Minnie's face on while she's on vacation?" Tony scoffed.

"Jarvis bring up the picture Tony just wiped."

"Please sir, I'd rather not." Jarvis said sounding hesitant.

"Bring up the picture Jarvis." Tony sighed knowing his friend wouldn't let it drop. The picture was of Minnie over a very young, very attractive, and very shirtless man's shoulder as he went running into the ocean. She was laughing as he ran into the water, and clinging to his shoulders. "Like I said; nothing." Tony said as he wiped the screen. "That's probably Dallas' boyfriend." Bruce nodded and swallowed.

"Yeah." he said and Tony sighed.

"Come on, let's go downstairs." Tony said as he clapped Bruce on the shoulder. They went back to the lab where Bruce hardly noticed Betty; his mind was focused on the picture of Minnie and that guy.

That night he stayed at the mansion, he was lying in bed, pretty close to falling asleep when his phone rang. "Yeah?" he answered it.

"God I was hoping you were awake." Minnie sounded like she was smiling.

"Hey, yeah, I'm up." he said as he sat up. "How're the Hamptons?"

"Oh my god, this house is amazing." she laughed. "Id' be surprised if Pepper doesn't talk Tony into a beach house, they've even got a private beach hon."

"That sounds nice."

"It's beautiful..." she sighed. "I wish you were here."

"I'm sure you're having more fun without me."

"No, not really." she sighed. "I saw so little of you these past few days, and now I can't even come harass you into eating at the Lab." she said.

"Betty harassed me into eating today." he said and instantly regretted saying it.

_Jesus Banner. Open Mouth. Insert Foot. _

"Oh. So, what are you guys working on?"

"I don't really know." he sighed. "Me, I guess. Or… The other guy."

"What are they doing?"

"Right now we're just running some tests." he said. "How's the beach?"

"It's nice. The water is kind of chilly, I mean, it makes sense, it's practically fall." she sighed. "I guess that means I should talk to the building supervisor about the heater."

"What's wrong with the heater?"

"Well last winter it was overheating all the time, I had to sleep in only my underwear all winter."

"I fail to see how that's a bad thing."

"You would." she said sharply, but he could hear the smile in her voice. "Honey, I'll let you go, you sound tired." she said. "I just wanted to call and check up on you."

"I glad you did." he said. "Have a good time," Not Too god of a time. "And I'll see you Sunday night, okay?"

"Okay, and Bruce...?"

"Yeah?"

"I- I miss you." she said and he smiled lightly.

"I miss you too." he said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." she said and hung up. He sighed and lay back on the bed.

It had sounded like she wanted to say something else, and he was almost scared of what it could be.


	28. Chapter 28

**_Hey ya'll! Sorry it's a little late, but here's chapter 28! (Oh my lord, that rhymes!) It looks like I'll be getting a part time job soon, thank god. One of the reasons I've been able to update so frequently is because I've been out of work for about a month now, and a good friend of mine will be my boos which is pretty cool. =) I hope you like this chapter, it's getting a little more stressful for them both, and I know a bunch of you hate Diego, or at least don't trust him, and that'll be touched upon in the next chapter. I hope you like the drama!_ **

* * *

The next day I woke up and smiled as I heard the sounds of the sea crashing on the beach, and Dallas doing his Samantha Jones impression. I smiled and stretched before I got out of bed and went downstairs. "Good morning little sister!" Felipe smiled at me when I walked into the kitchen. Dallas had a hand on his jutted out hip and was waving his hand in an attitude Samantha voice.

"Good morning Felipe." I smiled and kissed Dallas' cheek.

"Felipe, isn't she such a Carrie?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Yes I see Carrie Bradshaw in her." he nodded. "Pancakes?"

"Oh, yes please." I smiled and he handed a plate over to me. Pepper came down a few minutes later, also in her pyjamas and sat with us at the table.

"Did you talk to Bruce last night?" Dallas asked and I nodded.

"Sure did." I said and took a sip of my perfect coffee. "He's working with Tony and Betty a lot." I thought about what he had said and sighed.

"Baby girl, he is waaaay too smart to even think about doing anything." Dallas reassured me.

"Your boyfriend?" Felipe asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, he's working with his ex girlfriend- they're both scientists." I explained and he nodded.

"Yes, working with Tony Stark, right?" he looked at Pepper who nodded.

"Mmhmm." she nodded.

"Well, do not worry little sister," Felipe smiled. "He would be a fool to let anything happen."

"Thanks Felipe." I smiled.

"Felipe's taking us shopping today." Dallas grinned as he leaned on the counter.

"If you want to go." Felipe said. "If you want to stay here, that's fine with me."

"I'm always ready to go shopping." I smiled and Pepper grinned.

"Sounds like fun." she said.

"Well then, go get dressed and we'll go when you're ready." Felipe smiled.

After shopping we got back to the house and Felipe decided to have some people over, he had his cook come over and make a feast of amazing food, and invited a ton of people over.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Diego asked as I sipped a drink.

"Very much." I said over the loud music.

"Come, have a drink with me!" he said as he took my hand.

"You're underage!" I said and he smiled.

"Like that stops anyone." he grinned and I laughed.

"This is so wrong." I laughed as he poured two shots.

"Are you ready?" he asked and I stared down at the unassuming clear liquid in the shot glass.

"I warn you, I've never been good at these." I said and he smiled before I sighed and nodded. "Okay." I said, we clinked shot glasses before throwing back the silver tequila. "Fuck!" I coughed as I wiped the corner of my mouth.

"You did good!" he grinned and I laughed.

"I can't believe I just did a shot with someone younger then my sister." I said and he smiled.

"Wasn't that bad, was it?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Not that bad, no." I smiled. "Go, have fun, I'll see you later." I said to him. He nodded and walked away as I set the shot glass down.

"Did I just see you do a shot with Diego?" Dallas asked walking over.

"What are you the alcohol police?" I asked with a laugh.

"If I was I'm afraid I'd have to strip search you."

"No you wouldn't."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"Because I have a vagina."

"Oh yeah. Ew." he made a face and I laughed. "Who's that cutie Diego is dancing with?"

"A model I think..." I said as I looked over at them. "Kinda old for him though, don't you think?"

"Nah, still got a few good years." I nodded and looked at Dallas who smiled. "Felipe wants me to go to Brazil in a few months."

"That should be fun for you." I smiled.

"I have to get a passport." he said.

"Hey, guys!" Dallas and I looked over at Pepper who held her phone up. "Smile!"

"Photo op!" Dallas squealed as he wrapped his arms around me. I laughed, hugging him, and looking at Pepper while she took the picture.

"Hey, Big Wednesday," I said as a surfer guy walked by. "Get all three of us, huh?" I asked as I handed Pepper's phone to him. He nodded and Pepper got into the picture with us before he took a picture. Over the night Pepper got a lot more good pictures, she got one of me doing another shot (which I was annoyed with) she got one of her sitting on Felipe's shoulders, she got one of Dallas cooking (and then setting his shirt on fire), then me hosing him down with the fire extinguisher, she got ones of the nameless group of party people, and of everyone dancing.

"Come dance with me!" Diego said, as I sat on a chair.

"No, no." I waved my hand at him.

"Come on, one dance." he pleaded.

"Okay, fine." I sighed as I put my fruity, tropical, rum drink down. He helped me up and pulled me over to where people were dancing, he wrapped an arm around my waist and I laughed as I wrapped my arms loosely around his shoulders, mostly for support because at this point I was three sheets to the wind.

"Your boyfriend is very lucky." he said and I nodded as we danced.

"I wish he could have come with, but it was a girls weekend you know? Except for Dallas."

"Well Dallas poses no threat." he said with a laugh.

"I don't think anyone here poses a threat."

"You care for him that much?" he asked and I nodded.

"I think I love him." I said and he looked at me curiously.

"Have you told him?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Not yet, but I will the first chance I get." I said and then pulled away. "I need to go."

"Are you alright?" he asked and I shook my head. He helped me get upstairs to my bathroom, and held my hair back as I threw up everything I had eaten or drank.

"Will you get me my cell phone?" I asked and he found it for me. I dialed a number; it took me a few tries before I shoved it at him and told him the number to dial. I sat there next to the toilet, waiting for the ringing to stop.

"Hello?" a female voice answered the phone. I hung up the phone instantly and frowned at it. Why the fuck was she answering his cell phone.

* * *

Bruce couldn't help himself. He was working in the lab when the computer that Tony had been working on beeped. He looked over and realized there were some new pictures from Pepper's phone. He sighed, before he looked down. It wasn't important, he could handle not knowing. Then the picture from the night before entered his mind. No matter how much he told himself he trusted Minnie, it was the boy he didn't trust.

He finally tilted the screen towards him, and opened the pictures. Most of them were pretty normal; Pepper with some people, a ton of random people he didn't know, Minnie doing a shot. He shook his head at that. She would be feeling no pain at this point of the night. He continued to scrawl through the pictures, Dallas cooking, Dallas on fire, Minnie hosing him down with a fire extinguisher.

"She looks like she's having fun." Betty said from behind him.

"Yeah." he nodded.

"How old is she?"

"Twenty six."

"I didn't realize you liked them that young." she said and he looked back at her. She looked semi annoyed, and her lips were tight. It was a tell tale sign of Betty being jealous. He turned back to the screen before he said.

"Well I like her don't I?" he asked. He continued to flip through pictures until he got to one that made his breath stop and his heart rate increase.

Minnie dancing with the attractive boy from the picture the night before. His arm was around her and she was laughing. He wiped the computer screen and clenched his fists, before he took a few deep breaths.

"Hello?" he heard Betty answer a phone. She walked over to him a minute later. "Minnie called, but she hung up." she said as she put her hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her, then to his phone. He took it and slipped it into his pocket before he stood up and left the lab.


	29. Chapter 29

**_Hey ya'll! So, this chapter features Bruce's and Minnie's first fight. And it's a doozy. Also, you find out a little more about Diego. It's not what you expect. Things will resolve themselves though, they're too cute of a couple for them not to, right?_ **

* * *

The next morning I woke up with my blankets wrapped around me so tight it took me a few minutes to figure out which way was which. When I finally got out of my cocoon of perfect white sheets and pale blue bedspread I was a little more disoriented then I normally would be when I had a hangover. I went downstairs, and sat down at the table with my head down. "Juanita," Felipe said to the woman who was cooking. "One more coffee with-"

"Black." I groaned.

"Black." he said. "And toast darling." he said and she brought them over to me. I lifted my head up and sipped the coffee as Diego turned on the blender.

"_Noooooo_." I whined as I covered my ears. He stopped it a minute later and I scowled as I looked at him.

"Sorry." he grinned before he poured some smoothie into a glass and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I said and took a sip.

"Oh god hand some of that my way." Pepper said as she walked into the kitchen. Diego handed her a glass and she took a large drink before she looked over at me. "How's your head?"

"I have a head?" I asked and she smiled, before her face fell. She started gasping, and I felt my eyes widen slightly. "Pepper!" I said as she fell back. "Shit, were there strawberries in that drink?" I asked and Diego nodded as he stared. "Shit, uh, go get her purse!" he didn't move and I looked up at him. "Diego!" I screamed at him. He looked at me. "She will die if you don't get her purse!" he ran from the kitchen as I knelt down next to her. "Don't worry Pep." I said.

Diego came back and I dumped her purse out before grabbing her EpiPen, and jabbed it into her leg and pushed the release. A second later she gasped and I grabbed her hand. "It's okay." I said as I hugged her tightly. Five minutes later the ambulance was there, turns out Juanita had called them, and Pepper agreed to go with them to get checked out.

I went with her, and told Dallas to meet us there. While we were there one of the doctors noticed how hung over I was and insisted I get an IV of fluids, so I sat in the bed next to Pepper while they checked her over and put the IV into my arm.

"_Pepper Potts_!"

"Tony?" she called and he came running into the room. "Tony, what are you doing here?" she asked sitting up.

"Dallas called. We took the helicopter" he said and looked over at me. "What happened to you?"

"Hangover." I shrugged.

"What happened?" he asked. "Stress of marrying me too rough, decided to end it?" he grinned lightly and Pepper kissed him.

"It was an accident." she sighed. Dallas and Diego walked into the room and Tony looked at him for a long minute before looking at me.

"Who's the jock?"

"He's not a jock, that's Diego." I said as I pointed to him.

"Minnie." Bruce walked in and I smiled.

"Bruce." I said in relief. He walked over and hugged me tightly before looking at the IV in my arm.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, it's just fluids." I shook my head.

"What happened?" he looked at Pepper who smiled.

"It was an accident." she shook her head.

"Pepper, I'm so, so sorry." Diego said as he moved over to the bed.

"It's okay, there's no way you would have known."

"What happened?" Tony insisted.

"I drank a smoothie with strawberry in it!" she said throwing her hands up. "I'm fine; they just brought me here as a precaution, and to get me a new EpiPen."

"Minnie, what happened?" Diego asked moving over to me.

"Partied a little too hard last night." I said with a shrug. "Guess there is too much of a good thing." I sighed, and rested my head on Bruce's arm. "Diego, this is my boyfriend Bruce, Bruce, this is Diego."

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you." Diego smiled.

"Hi." Bruce said looking a little annoyed.

"You're a very lucky man." Diego smiled. "Minnie is an... Amazing person." he smiled at me.

"Honey, get this thing out of my arm." I said to Bruce.

"No, Minnie, you need to finish the IV." he said and I sighed.

"Excuse me." the nurse said walking into the very over crowded room. "Family only." she said with a frown.

"This is my fiancé." Pepper said quickly.

"I'm her husband." Bruce said quickly.

"You're Mr. Bancroft?" she asked and he nodded quickly. She left and Tony looked over at us.

"You not telling us something _Mr. Bancroft_?" Tony asked.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Bruce asked looking at me.

"Who? Diego? He's no one, he's Felipe's cousin."

"You seem pretty close."

"Excuse me?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. I had a long night in the lab." he sighed. I stared at him for a good minute before I looked back to Pepper who raised her eyebrows.

When we got back to Felipe's he hugged Pepper tightly, then hugged me. "I'm so glad you're both okay." he said, then hugged Pepper again.

"Felipe, thank you for everything you've done for us, we've had an amazing time."

"But you must go early, right?" he asked and she nodded. "Of course, I understand." he smiled. "Your health comes first." he said.

I went upstairs and to the room I had been staying in and sighed as I turned on the shower. I stepped in, and let the water wash everything away before I got out and wrapped my hair in a towel and my body in another one. I brushed my teeth and washed my face before I put on some moisturizer and walked out of the bathroom. Bruce was sitting on my bed and I smiled lightly at him.

"How're you feeling?" he asked and I sighed.

"Like I said to Diego, too much of a good thing."

"How old is he?" he asked and I laughed.

"He's _Twenty_." I laughed. "He's a baby."

"He's close to your age." he said softly and I wrinkled my nose.

"He's not even old enough to drink." I said, and scoffed. "Not that it stopped him."

"You have a good time last night?"

"Yeah, Felipe invited like half of the Hamptons over." I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Will you hand me the dark blue jean shorts and the tan tank top?" I asked and he looked through my bag before finding the clothes as I slipped on a pair of underpants and a bra before letting my towel fall. I stepped into the shorts, and pulled them up, and then pulled the tank top over my head before I walked over to Bruce and kissed his chin lightly. "I missed you." I said, and frowned when he didn't look me in the eye. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What?" I asked and he sighed darkly before he looked at me.

"Did you sleep with him?" he asked and my jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked in shock. "How could you even think that?"

"I saw the pictures of you two."

"...Pictures?" I asked with a frown. "What- Did- Oh no! Did Tony hack Pepper's cell phone again?"

"That's not the point."

"Oh, that is _So_ the point!" I said as I turned around. "He hacked mine too, didn't he? God, I can't believe him- Actually, _no_, I can believe him!" I said as I ran my hand through my hair. "_You_, however, I _can't_ believe." I looked at him and held my arms out. "What about me screams cheater to you?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Forget it."

"That would be an impossibility." I shook my head, and crossed my arms.

"When you called me the other night you sounded like you wanted to say something, but you were too scared too, or something, and those pictures didn't exactly look innocent." he said.

"Okay, number one, you have no right to snoop around in my phone, neither does Tony, number two, _Diego is Gay_!" I shouted at him. He stared at me and I nodded. "Yeah. Gay. You men have absolutely _no _gaydar." I groaned. "He ended up spending most of the night fucking the guy on this month's cover of GQ! And the only reason I know that is because his room is right across the hall from mine, trust me, _totally _gay. As for the phone call, the thing I wanted to say, but was too scared?" I asked and he stayed quiet. "What I wanted to say, but decided to wait until I could say it to your face, was _I love you_." I said before crossing my arms.

"Minnie." he said softly and I shook my head.

"I am far too hung over to deal with this right now Bruce. I've had to save my best friend's life, go to the hospital _and_ get a needle in my arm, which I _Hate_, finally have you show up, when all I wanted was to see you, and all you do is accuse me of cheating." I said and sighed. "Do you _really_ trust me so little?" I asked.

"No, I trust you." he sighed. "It's him I didn't trust." he said and I shook my head.

"Well, that'll teach you to go snooping in someone else's cell phone." I said as I sat on the bed. "Have a good trip back to Manhattan."

"Aren't you coming with us?"

"I'm staying here with Dallas until tonight, like I had planned." I crossed my arms. "And in case you're worried, Dallas is still gay." I said.

"Can we talk about this?"

"Not right now we can't." I said. "I think we both need to think about this. You should also rethink letting your ex girlfriend answer your phone at eleven o'clock at night." I said. "People might get the wrong idea."

"I think I should go."

"I think that's a good idea." I said before he walked to the door.

"Did you mean it?" he paused.

"What? That I love you?" he nodded. "Of course I meant it." I said softly. "And I still do. But that doesn't mean I'm not upset."

"I understand you being mad-"

"Oh, I'm _not_ mad. I'm hurt, and I'm disappointed." I crossed my arms.

"I think I'd rather you were Mad." he said and I nodded.

"Yeah, most people would." I said. "I think you'd better go."

He walked over to me and stood in front of me for a minute before he leaned down and lightly kissed the top of my head. "I'm sorry." he said into my hair.

"I know you are." I said as I stood there.

He left and I kicked the side of the bed before I walked over to it, climbed in and pulled the blankets over my head.

I needed a vacation from my vacation.


	30. Chapter 30

**_Hey ya'll! So in the next chapter you get to find out what Bruce has been working on with Tony and Betty. I hope you enjoy!_ **

* * *

The next day at work I brought a load of papers to the lab I knew Tony was in. "Mr. Stark, I need your signature on these." I said as I put them in front of him, not looking at Betty, or Bruce who were both watching me.

"What are they?" he asked as he looked through them.

"Receipts."

"I didn't approve these."

"Oh yes you did." I pulled out the paper copies of his emails.

"Oh yeah..." he grinned.

"You're just ready for anything, aren't you?" he asked and I stood there impatiently. "Oh you want me to sign these now?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes Mr. Stark, I need to get them to accounting as soon as possible."

"Aren't you even going to say good morning to your boyfriend over there?" he asked and I looked over at Bruce.

"Good morning Dr. Banner." I said and he winced. I looked back at Tony, and he looked me over.

"You keep glaring at me like that, I may turn to ice."

"If only I were so lucky." I said as he finished signing the last one. "Thank you."

"Is that it, you don't need me to date them?"

"That's all Mr. Stark." I said as I walked out of the office.

"Is it me or did it just drop ten degrees?" I heard Tony ask as I walked away.

I was walking down the hall when I heard someone say my name. "Minnie, right?" I smiled at Dr. Samson.

"How's it going Leo?" I asked.

"Pretty boring actually." he shrugged. "Betty's working, I came to bring her to lunch or something, but she can't leave the lab, I hate being in New York alone." he sighed with a laugh. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm just doing paperwork, sorting things all that crap." I shrugged.

"Well, I'm a psychiatrist; I'm good at that stuff."

"Sure." I laughed. I led him to my office and had an intern bring the papers Tony had just signed to the accounting department.

"You have a coffee pot in your office?" he asked and I smiled.

"Sure do." I said and sat down at my desk. "Jarvis, start brewing coffee please."

"How strong do you want it Ms. Strong?"

"Strong enough to peel paint from the Iron Man suit." I said as I sat down and handed a pile of papers to Leo. "You can sort those by date if you want to help."

"So, you and Dr. Banner huh?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, for the most part." I mumbled as I continued to work on what I was doing. The coffee finished brewing and I stood up. "How do you take your coffee Leo?" I asked.

"Uh, cream no sugar." he said and I mixed his coffee. "You know you're the only one who calls me Leo." he said and I smiled lightly.

"Kind of an obvious nickname." I said as I handed him the coffee. "Better than Plum." I threw out there to see if he caught the reference.

"What, like Dr. McCoy from Star Trek?" he asked and I grinned.

"Not bad Leo."

"Thanks. You a coaster hound?"

"Nah." I shook my head. "Just don't get coffee on the papers and we're good."

"Betty used to call me Leo. She's switched to Sam lately though."

"Huh." I muttered as I looked over some papers. "How are things with you two?"

"They're a little strained admittedly." he said.

"And how does that make you feel?" I asked and he paused before looking up at me. I laughed and he grinned.

"Touché." he said and I smiled. "It's rough right now, but, you know, I think it's just with this project and the baby and everything."

"The baby?" I looked up and he smiled lightly.

"She hasn't told you?"

"We don't exactly talk." I muttered.

"Well, you two do have the whole common interest thing." he said and I sighed with a small nod. "Ah, do I sense a little uneasiness there?"

"Oh, we got into a fight yesterday." I sighed.

"I'm sorry to hear that, was it serious?"

"Let me put it to you this way, all of the men I know are gay." I said and he chuckled.

"I'm sitting right here." he said and I grinned.

"Okay, fine, most of the men I know are gay." I sighed. "Bruce got the wrong idea about a friend and I, and we got into a fight." I said. "And the first time I used the 'L' word with him was in the middle of a fight."

"How old is this friend of yours?"

"He's like twenty." I laughed.

"Look, Minnie, you're a beautiful young woman. In case you hadn't noticed, Bruce isn't exactly the outgoing type who finds it easy to get a girl like you." he said as he took my hand in both of his. "He was threatened, and with his condition, he's secluded himself for so long that finally being with someone again, it's going to take a little work, like all relationships do." he said and I smiled lightly. "And that was free." I laughed and hit his arm lightly as I picked up my papers again. "Don't be too hard on the guy." he paused. "And don't be too hard on Betty; she's acting weird because of the hormones."

"Okay," I said and looked at him. "But in return, you have to remind your wife who she's married to." I said and he nodded.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that." he said softly.

"You know..." I said softly and he looked at me. "I'll be right back." he smiled as I stood up and walked to lab 12 where Tony was drawing something on a white board and talking to both Bruce and Betty, his eyes caught mine as I walked into the room and over to Bruce.

"Hey..." he said hesitantly.

"I forgot to say good morning to you." I said before I wrapped my arms around him and stood on my tip toes to kiss him longly. He stood there for a moment before he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. I ran a hand through his hair as he pulled me closer, leaning down a little bit to better kiss me.

"Okay, really guys, in the lab?" Tony asked after a few moments, though I could hear the smile in his voice.

"We still need to talk." I said when I pulled away, ignoring Tony.

"I know." he said softly.

"Come over when you're done here tonight." I said and he nodded. I gave him one more light kiss before I walked out of the room, leaving him there with his hair messed up, and a grin on his face. I was grinning too when I returned to my office.

"Well, that went well." he said and I laughed.

"Jarvis did you bring up the video of the lab?" I asked.

"Not on purpose Ms. Strong, there must be a glitch in my system, though if I do say so myself, nicely done." I laughed and sat down.

"Feel any better?" Leo asked and I nodded.

"Much." I said and he smiled before he looked back to the papers.

That night I had gotten home and changed into a pair of cotton shorts and the purple shirt of Bruce's I had stolen. I took my hair out of the tight French twist I kept it in while I was working and tied it into a loose knot. I called the Greek place down the street and placed an order, and opened a window. I deiced to paint my nails while I waited for Bruce. The food got there about twenty minutes later, I told the doorman to send him up, and I was carefully pulling the cash from my wallet when the door opened and Bruce walked in holding my take out bags.

"I ran into the Greek guy outside." he said and I nodded as he put the bags on the table. "Was it okay that I just..."

"Well I didn't ask for your key back." I said and he smiled as he shut the door.

"Talk first or food first?" he asked and I sighed.

"Talk first." I said and he nodded before he put his jacket on the back of one of the chairs. His eyes roamed over me, before he smiled lightly.

"That's my shirt."

"Mmmmm... No." I smiled. "It's my shirt." he chuckled as he walked over to me. He fixed the collar, and then his dark brown eyes caught my blue eyes. He lightly ran his thumb up the back of my neck before he smiled.

"It looks better on you." he said finally and I smiled before I let out a breath and took a step back.

"Okay Bruce, we need to be serious for a few minutes, just a few minutes." I said, before I sat on the couch. He sat down so he was facing me and I took his hand. "I'm going to start by saying I love you. I do." I said and smiled. "Where other men are concerned, you have nothing to worry about." I said and he sighed.

"I'm sorry about what happened, I just- You're so much younger than me and it's just hard sometimes to think you would want this life." he said as he gestured to himself. "Especially with The Other Guy-"

"Honey, the other guy saved my life." I said. "And, it's still kind of a shock, but it's nothing I can't live with." I said, and cleared my throat. "Which brings me to my next point."

"What?" he asked.

"I know we're not always going to agree, it's natural, we're two very different people, but, I hope we can agree on one thing." I said and he raised his eyebrows. "The two different places thing, it doesn't work very well, does it?"

"What are you saying?" he asked and I sighed.

"You're a scientist Bruce, figure it out." I said.

"You want me to move in?"

"Tell him what he's won Johnny." I said as I moved in and kissed him lightly. "But only if you think you can handle knowing that I want you." I kissed him again. "I don't want anyone else, none of the other eight million people in this city stand a chance, you get that?" I asked and he smiled as he moved in, wrapping his arms around me.

"I don't get it." he said softly. "But I love hearing it." I laughed as I kissed him gently. "And I love you." he said making me smile.

"I love you too Bruce." I said and then kissed him deeply.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Hey ya'll! So this is kind of a short chapter, but it's a good one. If you tend not to read mature stories, I'd skip this one.** _

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie.**  
_

* * *

Time went by, Bruce moved into my apartment with me, and continued to work with Tony and Betty, who started to show. Pretty soon she couldn't keep it a secret anymore, and Dallas started a new crusade. "_But I want kids_." he whined as I we walked through the farmers market.

"So you and _Felipe_ can adopt or hire a surrogate or something."

"Would you be my surrogate?" he asked and I raised my eyebrows.

"You're kidding right?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know." he said thoughtfully.

"I don't want to have kids just to please you, and now you want me to carry your kids just to please you?" I asked and he smiled.

"Well when you put it like that..." he shrugged and I laughed.

"When you put what like that?" Bruce walked over from picking out some tomatoes and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, he handed me a flower and I smiled as I took it.

"Honey, Dallas thinks we should have kids." I said and he chuckled.

"Oh really?" he asked and I nodded. "Is Dallas going to do absolutely everything for them?"

"Of course he is!" Dallas said sounding offended. "I'll be their fairy god father!"

"Of course he will." I said and I looked at Bruce who didn't look convinced. "Quit thinking about it so hard honey," I said as I kissed his chin lightly. "I don't want kids."

"Every woman wants kids." he said and I shrugged.

"Well maybe someday, but I mean, I'm twenty six." I laughed. "I'm not ready."

"I don't know if I can have kids." he said softly and I looked up at him as he stood there, thinking about it. It was obvious he hadn't thought about it before so I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at him.

"Hey," I said and he looked down at me. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I don't want kids, not now. And if the time comes when we're ready to have kids, we'll figure it all out. Okay?" I asked and he nodded. We went home after the farmer's market and I went to the closet, and pulled out some bags of gifts I had purchased.

"Need help?" he asked and I looked up at him.

"No, why don't you throw the kettle on?" I asked and he nodded as he went to the kitchen. He turned on the stove and filled the kettle with water before putting it on the burner. I was taping up a gift I had bought for Mandie when I sighed and turned on the radio. "Work goes by quicker with music." I smiled.

A poppy swing sounding song came on as I stood up and accepted a mug from Bruce. I couldn't help by swing my hips to the song, before I set the mug down on the coffee table and grab Bruce's hands. He smiled as I pulled him into dancing with me. Pretty soon it wasn't just fun dancing anymore and things started getting kind of heavy. The partially wrapped gift lay forgotten on the floor as Bruce and I lay on the couch making out.

I moaned lightly into his mouth making him tense up slightly, but keep kissing me, his hands made their way up my shirt, lightly brushing over my bra making me pull back slightly. He moved back a little, letting me sit up, and pull my sweater off, then my shirt. He kissed me before doing the same. Our lips met again as his hands roamed over my flat stomach, I smiled into the kiss, I was a little ticklish and he knew it, he hit a sensitive spot along my ribs making me bit his lip lightly. It just seemed to intensify things, I put my hand on his chest, and pulled out of the kiss.

"Bruce, wait," I said and he looked at me. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure." he said and I smiled, before I leaned in and kissed his neck. His breathing swallowed as I lightly brushed my lips over a very sensitive spot. I felt him grab my hips, and pull them to his.

"The bedroom." I gasped as he unzipped my jeans. Nat King Cole was playing as we went to the bedroom, I watched as he picked up what looked like an EpiPen and stuck it into his arm, before pushing the release. "What is that?" I asked and he smiled.

"It's what we've been working on." he said and I looked at him curiously.

"An EpiPen?" I asked as I took it.

"Very similar," he said as he worked on the buckle to my pale green bra. "But instead of stopping an allergic reaction, it stops the other guy from coming out... Temporarily." he added. "It's like a stabilizer."

"What if you want him to come out?"

"Then he can come out." he said softly. "But right now, he's not invited." he said as he finished unclipping my bra. He slid it down my arms, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me up and brought me to the bed, lying down on top of me.

I fumbled with his belt as he slid my jeans over my hips. I groaned softly as he moved down my body, placing occasional kisses to different places, he looked up at me, sliding my jeans all the way off, I looked down at him and he smiled before hooking his thumbs under my pale green underwear.

I gasped and moaned as my hips arched, my hands clawed my sheets as my heels dug into the bed, I mewed with want as he moved up my body, level with he stayed over me for a moment, staring down at me before I leaned up and kissed his chin, then moved my lips down his neck, I lightly bit down on his collarbone making him groan lightly, he moved one of my legs up over his hip.

"Oh god, Bruce-" I gasped, our hips moving together, my nails dug into his back, before he turned my face and crashed his lips against mine.

We lay there on our bed after, wrapped up in the sheet, his arm was around me as I lay with my head on his chest. "Was that as good for you as it was for me?" I asked looking up at him. We both smiled and I moved up to better kiss him. "What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"About what could have happened if it didn't work." he said and I sighed.

"But it did work." I said and he looked at me.

"Yeah, it did." he said and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"So why did Betty have to help with this?" I asked and he looked at me.

"She was there when the other guy was created." he said. "Tony wanted a member of that team who knew everything that had been done, who knew exactly how it happened. She was the only one I trusted to tell the exact truth."

"She still weird around you?"

"Mm... Not really."

"What happened?"

"I let her know where you stood in my life." He cupped my face lightly and smiled. "I love you."

"You just love saying it don't you?" I asked.

"About as much as I love hearing it." he said and I grinned.

"How long does that stabilizer last?" I asked.

"A few hours." he said and I smiled as I sat up and threw my leg over his hip, so I was sitting on him, he held onto my hips, and smiled as I leaned down and lightly kissed him.

"How 'bout I show you?" I asked.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Hey ya'll! So I hope you like the chapter! I gave myself a mani/pedi today and painted my nails green. They turned out perfect and I love this color. It's Hulk green, but metallic. So, I hate to say it, but the story is coming to a swifter than imagined ending. I'll probably end up doing a sequel, and I'm also thinking about doing a Phil Coulson story maybe? Opinions? Well, anyways, I hope you like this chapter, and don't worry, something big will be happening soon. Love ya! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. She's very happy right now.** _

* * *

The Monday I went back to work I brought in a few memos and a cup of coffee to Tony. "Good morning Tony." I said as I handed him the paper.

"Have a good weekend Minnie?"

"It was fine, how was yours?" I asked. He was staring intently at me. I met his eyes and he cocked his head, searching my eyes and I gave him a very small smile. He grinned and I shook my head. "The investors need to hear back about that as soon as possible." I said softly. He smiled and nodded, before he smirked, looking through the papers.

"Oh, and uh, before I forget, the Avengers are coming to town for Christmas." he said and I stopped.

"Care to run that one by me again?" I asked hesitantly.

"Pepper thought it would be '_nice_' to invite them. Guess she didn't expect them to all say yes." he shrugged. "So, they'll be staying at the mansion for Christmas.

"When are they getting here?"

"December eighth."

"It's a week before thanksgivings."

"Yup."

"Thank you for the heads up." I said as I walked out of the room. I paused at the door. "Uh, do you know if Thor..."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say no." he answered.

"Right, okay. Thanks Tony." I said before I went to lab 12 where I knew Bruce and Betty were working. "Hi honey." I said as I walked into the lab.

"Hey." he said as I walked over and kissed him lightly.

"Hi Betty. How's little Leo Jr.?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Did Leonard ask you to start calling the baby that?" she asked and I laughed.

"Come on, it's cute!" I said. "You could call him Lee-Jay." Betty laughed and I grinned as Bruce wrapped his arm around me. Ever since Bruce had done whatever it was he did with Betty, she had been much nicer to me which in turn made me nicer to her. We were almost... Friendly, but I wouldn't go quite that far.

"And if it's a girl?" she asked.

"Oh, that's easy," I said as I took a small piece off of Bruce's bagel. "Name it after Dallas." Bruce laughed and I smiled up at him. "Oh, hey, did you know Tony invited the Avengers to Christmas out here?" I asked and he shook his head.

"I didn't know that." he said and I sighed as I rolled my eyes.

"Well now we both know." I sighed as I leaned back against his chest. "Don't forget we have those concert tickets." I said and he nodded, resting his chin on the top of my head and wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Uh, the show is at seven, right?"

"Yeah, but we should leave home by six fifteen to get there in time."

"Which means we leave here to have time to get ready."

"Exactly." I smiled. I turned around and kissed his chin lightly before I waved to Betty. "See ya!" I called.

Thanksgivings came and went; we spent it with Tony and Pepper, and I Skyped with my family, saying I missed them and how much I loved them. Soon it was Christmastime in New York, which was amazingly beautiful.

I dragged Bruce out to finish our Christmas shopping and was at Macy's when we went up a floor to try to find something for my new Nephew (Tabby had a little boy and named him Owen. Owen Sebastian. I couldn't stop laughing when she told me) when we stumbled upon Santa-Land hell.

"Think about it this way," I was saying to him as we went back down the escalator. I'd find something for the poor unfortunate Owen Sebastian online. "If we had kids in New York, we'd have to stand in that hell of a line." I pointed out to him. He chuckled as I slipped my hand into his and laced our fingers together. "And I don't think you could handle that."

"You're probably right." he said and I looked up at him.

"Probably?" I asked and he laughed.

"Probably." he repeated with a small wink. I shook my head as we got into line to check out.

"Oh, hey, um, Manhattan's playing on TV tonight, we should watch it."

"You want to order in?" he asked and I smiled.

"Actually I was thinking I'd cook." I said and he stared down at me for a moment. "Yeah, big surprise right?" I asked with a grin. "I cook."

"Prove it." he said and I grinned.

"I plan to." I said.

That night I cooked lasagna and made a salad, then opened a bottle of red wine. I poured two glasses and smiled as Bruce carried our plates to the living room. I turned on the TV and dimmed the lights before settling into the couch with him. "Why don't you ever cook?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Never have time for it, and when I do have time, I'm wiped out."

"I understand that." he said and leaned over to kiss my temple. "You're great at it though."

"Thanks." I smiled. He wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled into his side, watching the movie until I realized his breath was shallow. I looked up at Bruce and smiled. His head was resting on the back of the couch and he was breathing deeply. He let out a small snore and I giggled.

"Are you laughing at me?" he asked groggily.

"You bet I am." I said softly before I picked up the remote and turned the tv off. I picked up my wine and finished the glass before I grabbed Bruce's hand. "Come on sleepy man." I said as I pulled him into the bedroom.

"You know," he said as he ran his hand across my abdomen. I felt his fingers lightly graze the hem of the shirt I was wearing.

"What?" I looked at him.

"Now that we're in bed I can't fall asleep."

"Pain in the ass." I said and he laughed. I rolled over on my side so I was facing him. He lightly ran his fingers through my hair and I smiled. "So what should we do about that?" I asked and he heaved a long sigh rolling over onto his back, he then looked back at me and smiled.

"I can think of a few things." he said and I laughed.

"Let me guess." I said as I sat up. "They start like this," I said as I leaned down and kissed him lightly.

"That's how they generally start, yeah." he nodded.

"So what happens next?" I asked. He sat up and kissed me pulling me close to him, before we made love.

Afterwards I fell asleep laying on his chest, lightly drawing patterns with my finger, as he lightly ran his fingers up and down my spine, a smile playing on his lips.

He looked down as I slept on him and leaned down to gently press his lips against my head. He sighed, then turned off the lamp next to the bed before he fell asleep too.


	33. Chapter 33

**_Hey ya'll! So the next chapter, something big is happening! In this one, we get to see all of the Avengers! Has anyone else noticed that in the Avengers, when the Hulk comes out, he's still got like a five o'clock shadow, and hair on his chest? I noticed that and I was like huh... Nice attention to detail guys! _ **

**_Disclaimer: I only own Minnie!  
_**

* * *

The next day I spend finishing wrapping the gifts I had bought, and packaging them up. "Ay dios mio." I muttered as I piled the packages by the door. I'd send them all to my parent's house seeing as everyone would be there anyway.

"Buenos días." Bruce said as he walked in and kissed the top of my head. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch.

"You speak Spanish?" I asked.

"Don't you?"

"Enough to get the point across." I shrugged.

"And enough to say oh my god?" he asked.

"Well, there's a few other phrases I know." I shrugged. "You pick it up when you live in California." He held his hand out and I walked over, and sat down next to him, he wrapped his arm around me, rested his forehead against my head and spent the morning whispering phrases in Spanish in my ear. Most of them I had no idea what he was saying, but there were a select few that made me blush.

Christmas was approaching, and it was approaching fast. Tony had previously made quite a show at the Rockefeller Tree Lighting ceremony by actually taking the star and flying to the top of the tree in his Iron Man suit, then placing it onto the top of the tree, making the crowd go wild. I remember standing on the side of the stage with Bruce, our fingers entwined as we watched with small smiles.

I was working at the Mansion, doing the finishing touches for the Avengers rooms, it had been a rather overcast and rainy day, turning the preexisting snow to slush. I finished putting the bottom sheet on a bed and was pulling it tight, wondering where the cleaning woman was and why she hadn't been asked to do this, but I pushed the thought from my head and thanked myself for not having to escort his one night stands out since his relationship with Pepper was obviously going so well. There was a loud clap of thunder and lighting, followed by another. I sighed, getting home tonight would be fun.

After the initial thunder and lightning passed I finished the bed and was fluffing the pillows when there was a loud knock on the door downstairs. I frowned lightly; the Avengers weren't scheduled to arrive until later that evening, though it wasn't unheard of for them to be early.

"Jarvis, picture of the front door." I said. The glass on the window lit up and a picture of the front door came up, standing outside, in all of his godly glory was Thor. "Jarvis, let him in." I said quickly and moved for the door. "And wipe picture!" he did so and I could hear movement downstairs as I walked downstairs quickly. "Thor," I greeted him as I walked downstairs. We had met- briefly- after the Loki incident. "It's good to see you."

"Ah, the woman called Strong Little." he grinned.

"Actually it's Minnie, but very close." I said with a smile. He responded by giving me a bone crushing hug. No, literally I think he might have misplaced a rib or two when he lifted me off the ground, crushing me into his chest. "Come to celebrate the holidays on Midsgard...?" I asked with a small smile as I put my hand over my ribs.

"It is Midgard, and yes, I am here to celebrate the Masses of Christ." he said and I smiled lightly. "No?"

"Christmas, very close." I said. "Jarvis, please inform Tony that Thor is celebrating Christmas here." I said.

"Right away Ms. Stone." he replied and Thor looked up and around.

"I fear I shall not get used to the bodiless voice." he said and I smiled as I patted his arm.

"It takes awhile." I said before I gestured for him to follow. Remembering last time Thor was alone in the mansion I decided it would be best to keep an eye on him. "Come on, you can help me prepare a room for the rest of the Avengers." I said. He came with me and I led him to a room and he helped me make the bed.

"Is this a ritual when preparing for friends?"

"Generally speaking, yes." I said. "See you tuck the ends under, like this." I showed him and he lifted the edge of the mattress, lifting it off the bed. He smoothed the ends of the sheet down under the mattress before he placed the mattress down and smoothed the top sheet down. "Or you could do that." I laughed. "That's very good Thor." I smiled.

"Tell me Minnie," he said and I looked at him. "What do you know of Jane Foster?"

"I know much of her." I said with a smile as I put pillowcases on the pillows. I threw one at him, it hit him right in the face and he looked at me in surprise. The next thing I knew, the pillow had hit me, and I was on the floor from the sheer force.

"I apologize!" he said as he helped me up. "I have wounded you."

"Huh?" I asked before I realized I had a nose bleed and I laughed.

"It's okay Thor." I smiled. We went downstairs and I got a Kleenex and held it to my nose while I sat at the kitchen bar. The back door opened and Pepper walked in.

"Hey Minnie- Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"Never start a pillow fight with the son of Odin." I said simply. She looked to the refrigerator where Thor was pulling out a can of coke. He frowned pulling on the metal tab before pulling it off, without opening the can.

"Thor," I said and he looked at me. He brought the can to me and I picked up a butter knife. I broke the opening and handed the can back to the Asgardian who gulped down the coke before belching loudly. Pepper and I exchanged a grin before I giggled lightly. "Nice one Thor." I said before holding my fist out. "Pound it." He grinned, Darcy had shown him that, and he bumped his fist against mine. I laughed at how pleased he looked before I moved the tissue. "Did it stop?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Pepper said as she handed me a wet paper towel. I wiped my nose off before I looked at Thor.

"Well, son of Asgard," I said and he grinned. "First things first, we get you a change of clothes, then I need to go grocery shopping, if you would like to come along?"

"That is the plan of a champion." he said and I laughed.

"And when we get back, I'll get you into contact with Jane." his face softened and I smiled. I brought him some clothes what he had worn when he was last on Earth. He went upstairs and I led him to the room he had helped me make the bed in. "This will be your room while you're here, okay?" I asked with a smile.

"Thank you." he said and I shut the door as I left. When I got downstairs Pepper was on my phone.

"No, Abby, she's right her." she said and handed me the phone.

"Hey, did you guys get the packages?"

"Oh god, my kids are losing their minds trying to figure out what's in them." she said and I grinned. "No, I'm calling because... Well, it's, it's probably nothing, but someone came to the house looking for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well mom and dad went to Utah with MeeMaw to visit a friend before the holidays for the weekend, and I was at the house picking up the mail and feeding Scruffy, and there was a knock on the door. So, I answered it, and it was this cute guy, he asked for you."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"He said his name was Peter Ford, I didn't recognize him, but he said that you guys went to school together and he was in town for the holidays and he wanted to reconnect."

"I don't know, the name doesn't ring a bell." I said.

"Yeah, so I told him I was sorry, that you moved and that you're seeing someone- you two are still together right?"

"Yes Abby, we're still together." I said and she sighed. "Concentrate."

"Oh, right, well, he asked if you had a number I could reach you on, and I said no, and he asked where you worked and I said I wasn't comfortable with giving out that information..."

"What happened?"

"Mandie was walking through and she heard, and she said you worked for Tony Stark." she sighed. "I'm sure it's nothing!"

"Yeah, its probably nothing." I said. "When did that happen?"

"Yesterday afternoon." she sighed.

"Look, it'll be fine, like you said, it was probably nothing."

"He just- he gave me the creeps Sam."

"It's okay Abbs," I said as Thor walked back into the room. "Look, I have to go, the Avengers are converging upon us for Christmas." I sighed.

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you too Abby, I'll talk to you soon." I hung up and sighed, before I looked at Thor and smiled. "Let's get out of here huh?" I asked. After grocery shopping with Thor (which was great because he could literally take all of the groceries in at once) I got him on the phone with Jane, who was overjoyed to hear from him. They spent a good hour and a half, maybe longer talking, while Pepper and I put away the groceries and started cooking. I was in the middle of flipping over a browning piece of frying eggplant when the doorbell rang.

"Jarvis?"

"Agents Romanoff and Barton." he answered. I went to the door and smiled at the two assassins and let them into the house, we talked and I had Thor show them to the room they would be staying in. Soon Tony and Bruce came to the house, and then as I was finishing cooking (And boy did Pepper and I do a lot of that) did Steve Rogers get there.

"Steve," I smiled as I hugged him. "I'm sorry about New Orleans." I said softly and he nodded.

"I understand." he said gently. He let go of me and shook hands with Bruce who was standing behind me. "Dr. Banner, I'm sorry about-"

"Forget it." Bruce said with a nod. Everyone talked, and was having a good time when I looked at Bruce, and touched his hand. He looked at me and I smiled lightly. "Uh, we're going to say good night." Bruce said as we stood up.

"Well I see you two are still together." Barton grinned.

"Never better." I smiled as I pulled on my coat. "I'll be around in the morning in case there's anything you need. Tony will give you my cell number if you need me to bring anything in particular in the morning, let me know; it was good to see you all."

"Good night." the Avengers chorused and Bruce wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Oh, and Tony?" I looked at him. He rolled his eyes but threw me the keys to the town car he never drove. I smiled as we walked out and I drove us home.


	34. Chapter 34

_**Hey ya'll! Here's the big chapter, like I promised you! Next one will be from the Avenger's POV, which will be fun. =) The beginning of this chapter is for mature audiences only, though in my usual fashion I don't like to be too explicate. I hope you like it, and I hope you don't hate me for a little bit of OC abuse. **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie. This shit's about to get intense.** _

* * *

"Good morning." I smiled at Bruce who groaned softly. We hadn't gotten to bed until late, and it was now early. "_Hoooney_," I said softly as he rolled onto his back. I climbed on top of him, and leaned over, gently kissing his lips, and moved my lips along his jaw to his ear. "Time to get up." I said before I lightly nibbled on his ear.

"God, I'm up." he said sounding strained. I smiled as I continued my attack on him, he groaned softly as he held onto my hips. "What time is it?" he asked and I pulled away to look at the clock.

"Seven." I said as I looked back down at him. "We've got time."

"Good." he answered before he fumbled for the EpiPen.

He slammed it into his leg and pushed the release and then smiled at me. I kissed him deeply; his hands moved up my shirt and lightly caressed my body. I gasped out before removing my shirt as his hand slid under my waistband, I arched my hip into his touch and let my head fall back, gasping and moaning, I could tell he was getting into it when he sat up and slid my pyjama pants down.

I kissed him passionately as I untied the waistband of his pants; off they went, along with the rest of what we both were wearing. He kept his right hand on my lower back as I moved on top of him, our honeymoon period was far from over. I moaned into his shoulder as I got close.

He increased his grip as I kissed his neck until he moved his grip to under my knees. He pulled them, adjusting his weight until I was lying under him, my legs over his hips. He moved his hand to the one I had on the bed and laced our fingers together.

"I'm-" I gasped. "Almost- I-" I bit my lip, and threw my head back with a high pitched gasping moan. He followed suit less than a moment later, and collapsed on top of me for a moment, before moving next to me.

"So-" he panted as I looked over at him. "Do you think-" he swallowed with a smile. "You could wake me up like that tomorrow?" I laughed as he leaned over and kissed me.

"That depends if you think you're up for it." I teased lightly. He stared down at me and I grinned as he raised his eyebrows.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late." I said as I went into the mansion.

"You look like you had a good morning." Pepper said and I raised my eyebrows innocently.

"Why whatever do you mean?" I asked and she rolled her eyes before she walked over and adjusted my chunky necklace.

"I mean it's obvious Bruce likes your collarbone." she said as she covered the spot. I blushed lightly with a smile as she adjusted it. "So, Tony went to work, he had a board meeting-"

"Right, and in Tony's words, it'll be a meeting where he's very, very bored." I said and she sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder why I let him take the company back."

"Because he made you a partner." I said as I looked through the mail.

"That's true." she said with a small laugh.

"Hey, Minnie," Natasha Romanoff came into the kitchen a few hours later as I typed on the computer for a minute. "Do you think you could drive me somewhere?"

"Sure, where do you need to go?"

"The store." she said and I looked up.

"I went grocery shopping last night the house is full of- Okay." I said after she shot me a look. "Here." I handed her a tampon from my purse. She went to the bathroom and I frowned momentarily as I picked up my iPhone. I looked at the calendar and counted momentarily before Natasha came back.

"Ready?" she asked and I looked up.

"Yeah." I smiled as I put the phone down. I grabbed the keys to the car and we went to the car. "So how have you been?" I asked and she sighed.

"I've been undercover mostly." she said. "They had me working in France."

"Oh, I'd love to go to France someday." I sighed with a smile.

"You're French if I remember correctly, right?"

"Yup, half." I smiled. We got to the grocery store and I went to the magazine aisle as Natasha found what she wanted. I found a few magazines featuring Tony and articles about him and was buying them when I bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry." I said as the man helped me pick up my magazines.

"It's quite alright, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine." I smiled as he looked at the magazines.

"Tough reading." he said and I shook my head.

"Occupational hazard." I said. "Have a nice day."

"You have a nice day too Simone." he said and I looked back at him.

"Excuse me?" I asked and he continued to walk like he hadn't heard me. "Hey!" I started to follow him down the aisle.

"Got what I need." Natasha said and I turned around before I looked back to the guy who had turned down a different aisle. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." I sighed. I walked with her to checkout and we paid for our purchases.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked me and I nodded.

"Yeah, it's probably nothing. I think that guy just recognized me or something." I muttered.

"Does that happen often?"

"Not often, but it does happen. Usually happens to Pepper." I smiled. We got into the car and I was driving when a huge SUV pulled out in front of us. "Oh come on, really?" I asked softly as he dropped his speed. I sighed, and started to slow down when I noticed the light ahead of us turning yellow.

He sped up- as did the car behind us. "What the hell?" I managed to ask before the car behind us hit us. They sped up, and shoved us through the intersection, Natasha and I were freaking out, I pulled the parking break, and the car screeched to a halt before we were hit from the side.

"Are you okay?" Natasha asked and I turned my head to look at her. My body felt weird, almost weightless, but like I was being held down. She unbuckled my seatbelt and lightly slapped the side of my face. "Hang on Minnie." she said as she climbed out of her window. a moment later I heard a thump and she slid down the windshield. I stared at her, before I tried opening my door. I fell out of the car, and was grabbed by someone.

"No-" I gasped, shoving the person. He put his hand on the side of the car, and then grabbed me by the hair. I groaned, and tried to squirm away, only to get throw in into the back of the SUV that had been following us. "Natasha!" I called, hitting the window.

Someone pressed a cloth over my nose and mouth, I tried to struggle, but that weightless feeling and the small confined space made it hard to move at all, I held my breath as long as I could until I had to take a breath, when I did the stench of strong chemicals invaded my senses. I coughed into the cloth, and started kicking, and clawing, I scratched at the guy, until I fell limp.

"God damn." he groaned. "She out?"

"Nah, she knows what's going on." the person in the front passenger's seat said before he looked back at me. "Don't you Simone?" he grinned. It was the guy from the grocery store.

"Well I see why he likes her." the guy I had clawed in the face said as he turned my head to look at him. "She ain't bad to look at huh?" he grinned.

"Hey- No touching." the guy in the front said. "You rough her up, or any of that, he ain't gonna make the deal."

"Good point." the driver pointed out. Their voices were starting to sound muffled.

"I thought you said she'd know what was going on, why's she passing out?"

"Shit, she's probably got a concussion."

"Fuck! What do we do?" their voices started to fade as I lost consciousness.

The last thing going through my mind was how I hoped Natasha was okay, and how pissed Bruce was going to be.


	35. Chapter 35

_**Hey ya'll! So this is Chapter 35, we're getting real close to the end now, but don't worry, I will be doing a sequel! I haven't decided the name for it yet, but I'll let you know! **_

_**This chapter is dedicated to La Bella Figura for calling me a "Cruel, evil author." (I love it) I'd hate for you to go out of town without getting to see chapter 35, so here's one for you doll! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie.** _

* * *

Tony had never seen someone display as much control as Bruce was displaying right now. His fists were clenched, his breathing was shallow, he was standing against a wall, his head leaning back, and he seemed to be whispering to himself. When Natasha called and said it was urgent, Tony had been offering Bruce full time employment. Sure, he had been paying Bruce twice what he would any normal freelance scientist who came to work on a random project with them, but Tony wanted security for him, and for Minnie.

He had known early on that they were perfect material for the other. The way Minnie rolled with everything that happened, the compassion Bruce had shown her after the Loki incident when he was wrapping her knee, the two were a match made in... Well, Stark Tower.

"Minnie and I went to the grocery store to pick some things up, and we were driving home when there was an accident." Natasha sounded slightly slurred, he couldn't tell if it was from the accident, or if it was from something else.

"Is Minnie okay?" Bruce asked leaning forward in his seat.

"Tony, take me off speaker phone." Natasha said after a moment.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Tony said as he looked at Bruce who was staring intently at the phone.

"Tony, take me off speaker phone, I don't want to do this right-"

"**Just Tell Me She's Okay**!" Bruce shouted slamming his hands down on the desk, dark brown eyes fading slightly, hints of green threatening to make themselves known. Everything was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke again.

"We were ambushed. They shot me full of tranquilizers, and they took Minnie." she said. Bruce jumped up, running his hand through his dark, curly, slightly graying hair. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he was trying to calm himself down. "SHIELD is here." she said. "They're looking into this as quickly as possible. They're sending agents to Stark Towers."

"Right." Tony said and about three minutes later Phil Coulson, the agent that faked his death to bring the Avengers together came walking in. He cast a wary look at Banner who was now in the position that Tony was staring at him in, his back to the wall, fists clenched, trying to control the other guy.

"Stark," he said as he walked over. "Banner." he nodded to Bruce who didn't even acknowledge the existance of the agent. "They've made contact with us."

"Who are they?" Tony asked and Coulson sighed.

"They call themselves Hydra."

"Hydra? Weren't they brought down way before Rogers decided to hibernate for seventy years?" Tony asked and Phil nodded.

"We believed so, but we now believe they've been brought back, they have a new director who apparently is the one who ordered them to get his attention using whatever means possible."

"Well they've got it." Bruce said suddenly looking at Phil. "So what do we do?"

"We wait until they-"

"We _wait_!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. Neither of the men missed the large crack in the wall when he pulled his fist back.

"Agent Coulson, there's an incoming message." Jarvis said, before the window behind Tony flickered into a screen.

"Dr. Banner, at this point I'm sure you know we've got your girlfriend. Who are we you may ask? We are-"

"Hydra, yeah, we know, mind telling us something we don't know?" Tony interrupted. "Like how you missed grabbing the Hulk and compensated by grabbing his girlfriend?"

"You... Know?" the guy on the video asked, his smile faltering slightly before he cleared his throat. "Uh- Anyway - We heard about your little stunt in New Orleans Dr. Banner. Very impressive. The young man you almost killed is walking again."

"Free to hit another woman and victimize children, good for him." Tony mumbled as he pressed a button on his keyboard.

"What do you want with me?" Bruce stepped forward.

"What else do you have to offer Dr. Banner?" the bastard smiled. "Your DNA. You give us your DNA, you get the girl back." he said and then someone rushed on screen and whispered in the guy's ear. "You're kidding." He looked at the other agent. "Well how soon can we do it?" the agent whispered. "That soon?" he grinned.

"Hey, uh, anytime you'd like to fill us in on your demands-" Coulson was saying before Tony cut him off.

"Don't bother, we've got their location." he said.

"Well you don't bother." the guy replied. "By the time you get here, we'll have his DNA and an army of Hulks." Both Coulson and Tony looked at Bruce before looking back at the screen.

"Unless this is a very good life model decoy of Bruce Banner, and you guys have the real deal, I'm kind of failing to see how that would be possible." Tony said as Bruce walked over to the desk, curiosity in his eyes.

"We have the next best thing to Banner's DNA." the agent grinned. "We have their child's DNA." Agent Coulson and Tony both looked at Bruce who was staring at the screen, his face had gone pale. "You can have your girlfriend back when we're done." the agent smirked. "Au revoir, Banner." the agent pushed a button and the screen went dead.

"I'm going to take a wild guess here and assume you didn't know that Minnie's pregnant, right?" Tony asked and Bruce numbly shook his head.

"Tony, what was that location?" Phil asked and Tony turned the screen towards him. Phil spoke into his phone for a moment then looked at the two men. "They're gearing up. Let's go." he said. They went to the roof, Tony stepped into his Iron Man suit and it all came together quickly before he flew up to the roof as a jet was landing, being flown by Barton. She stood up when Bruce got into the jet and walked over to him.

"Bruce, I'm so sor-"

"Just get me to her." he said holding up his hand to silence the Russian. She nodded and looked to Barton who was getting the coordinates from Phil.

"We'll be there in less than an hour." Barton promised. With that they closed the jet, Bruce took a seat, and they were off.

"Tell me about Hydra Cap." Banner said suddenly to Captain America who looked surprised at the request.

"Hydra? They were defeated in my time, why would-"

"Because apparently not everyone got the memo." Bruce looked up at Captain America. "And the group that took Minnie are claiming to be Hydra, so I want to know everything I can about them before I get in there and I tear them to pieces." he said making all of the Avengers look back at him. "They threatened the woman I love, and they threatened our child," he said darkly making everyone shift. Thor looked outraged, and Natasha was clenching her jaw while Captain America looked stunned. "And I want to know just what it is I've gotten them into." he said. Captain America sighed, and nodded before he told them everything he remembered about Hydra and how they were trying to steal the super soldier serum.

"Seems now they're trying to make their own super soldier." Tony said softly.

"Just because it's half my DNA doesn't mean it will be… Like me." Bruce said and Tony put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We'll find out when we get them back." He said and looked down at Bruce. "_When_ we get them back Banner." Banner sighed and nodded.


	36. Chapter 36

_**Hey ya'll! Here's chapter 36! I hope you like it, it shows Minnie's Mama Bear instincts starting to kick in. I'm going to bed now because I'm meeting with my (possibly) new boss tomorrow for lunch, so, fingers crossed huh? =) Anyways, enjoy the chapter, and please feel free to let me know what you think! Only 4 chapters to go! **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie, the doc and the guards and such. Their affiliation (Hydra) I do not own. Nor do I own the Avengers. If I did, I would be following them around with a video camera insisting it was "Avengers behind the scenes". lol I joke. (kinda...)** _

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When I woke up I was in a dirty hospital looking room, with leather straps around my wrists and ankles. I looked around before I sat up. The room looked like it hadn't been used since before the Vietnam war, and to my luck, neither did the straps holding me down. I started to pull on the one on my left wrist, after noticing the worn and cracked leather. The door opened and I quickly stopped what I was doing. "Hello?" I called as I heard footsteps approaching.

"So, you're the belle who tamed the beast." the male doctor said looking unimpressed. "You've got a pretty nasty bump on your head."

"If it's a problem, you can blame it on that asshole who crashed my boss' car and then threw me in the back of his car." I said icily. "We didn't even exchange insurance information." I shook my head and the doctor looked at me curiously before he looked at his chart. He wrote something down and I cleared my throat. "Where the hell am I?" I asked and he looked back at me before he walked over and popped a thermometer under my tongue.

"You are property of Hydra." he said as he timed it and then checked my temperature.

"I'm not anyone's property, how long do you plan on keeping me here?"

"Until we've gotten what we need from you."

"Which is?" I asked.

"The DNA from the Hulk." he said. "I personally think he would have cracked, why they're settling for half the DNA, I'll never know-"

"Half the DNA?" I asked. "_Half_- you- I'm...?"

"Huh. You had no idea did you?" he asked and I stared down at myself.

"I had a small idea." I muttered.

"Well, don't worry." he said as he wrote on the clipboard. "It won't last long." he patted my leg and started walking away.

"Hey. _Hey!_" I shrieked after him. "It's my choice, don't you dare touch my baby!" I screamed after him. He just continued to walk. "Don't you dare!" I shrieked. He left the room and I started to anxiously twist and pull on my left wrist. The cuff was getting loose and soft when I looked at the metal bed frame. I pressed the bottom of my thumb against the bed frame, and pushed, hard, dislocating my thumb. I slipped my hand out of the now loose leather cuff and smiled to myself. "Simon," I whispered softly. "I forgive you for running over my hand on the bike that time when I was six."

I unbuckled my right hand using my first and middle finger before I pushed my thumb back into place. I winced but then unbuckled the straps on my ankles. I went to the door quietly and looked out the window. There were two guards out there. I sighed before I went to the window and looked outside. I couldn't tell where I was, somewhere cold, because it was snowing. I opened a window and shivered, cursing myself for wearing a skirt today. I would never forgive Dallas for convincing me to buy it- even if it was super, super cute and on sale and looked good with almost everything and made my ass look great. I wasn't forgiving him.

The window was just wide enough for me to slide through, but with my luck it wasn't really a surprise to find I was on the third floor. I looked down, and to the sides, before I spotted a long drain looking pipe. I thought to every movie I had seen with a drainpipe escape, and then sighed.

"_I haven't seen Berlin yet, from the ground or from the air, and I plan on doing both before the war is over."_ I said doing my best Steve McQueen impression. I stuck my legs out the window and slipped through it slowly, my feet hit a small ledge and I gripped it as best I could with my toes as I slid the rest of my body out the window. I closed the window and held onto the building as I started to move towards the drain pipe. I got to it and let out a small sigh. "Feet don't fail me now." I said as I tried to keep a positive outlook. I put my hand on my stomach and looked down at it. "Don't worry baby, Mommy won't let the evil men hurt you." I said softly.

I held onto the ice cold drain pipe and started to very slowly shimmy down, it creaked and groaned under my body weight (though to be fair, I was heavy for two now). When I was about half a story from the ground part of it gave a sharp groaning sound before jerking to the side slightly. I gasped, and fell back, a montage of films where characters fell off of drains flashed through my mind as I hit the ground. I groaned softly, I had landed on my back, before I heard voices around the corner. "Mommy's fine." I said softly as I got up. I was a little disoriented, but I started to run, until I ran right into a guard.

"You're not supposed to be-" I did the one thing I had always screamed at girls in these situations in movies to do. I kicked him between the legs as hard as I could. Even without shoes it seemed to be hard enough because the next thing I knew he was on the ground, cupping himself and coughing. I ran away from him and cursed myself for not taking his shoes; lord knows I could use them right about now.

"We're going to get home, and we'll find your Daddy," I was whispering under my breath. "We'll be okay, we'll be a family, I promise." I whispered. I had no idea where I was going, so running into the forest surrounding the building- probably not the best idea. Especially since Hydra seemed to anticipate that move. "Let Me Go!" I shrieked as I kicked the man who was carrying me over his shoulder.

"You stop struggling and this will all be easier." he said as I kicked and beat him. I kneed him in the jaw and grabbed a handful of his hair, before he threw me onto the snowy ground in front of him. I triumphantly held up some of the hair I had been holding onto. "Will you fucking calm down?" he shouted at me. "You're just bait; you're not in harm's way!"

"My fucking baby is!" I shouted at him and he stared at me. "That's right fuck head, I'm fucking pregnant, and those fucking assholes want to force a fucking abortion on me." I said, before tears started to roll down my face. "I want my baby; I want my baby more than anything." I said as I put my hands over my stomach. "Please." I said. He sighed deeply, and looked around.

"Okay look, five miles west of here, there's a ranger station, if you get there, I'm sure they'll help you." he said softly. I gasped and was about to say something when I felt the cool metal of the barrel of a gun against my head. "No, Andrews, she's fine!"

"Stand the fuck up." Andrews said slowly. "Slowly!" I stood up slowly and he nodded to the way back to the hell building. "Good job Hudson." Andrews said as he led me out of the forest.

"Well well well, what have we here?" it was the guy from the grocery store. "And just what was your plan?" he asked and I stared up at him silently. "Did you really think you'd get out of here?" He looked me over as I said nothing. "Say something."

"_It is the sworn duty of all officers to try to escape. If they cannot escape, then it is their sworn duty to cause the enemy to use an inordinate number of troops to guard them, and their sworn duty to harass the enemy to the best of their ability_." I said to him and he raised an eyebrow. BRBRBR "You're quoting _The Great Escape_?"

"I felt it was appropriate." I shrugged.

"Because Hydra was working with the Nazis originally, or because you think you can get out of this?"

"Can't it be both?" I asked sweetly, and seeing as my arms were being restrained by two guards, I then repeated a previous action I had done to the guard in the yard, and kicked him, as hard as I could right between the legs. He fell to his knees coughing and clutching himself and I grinned triumphantly.

"Put her back in the fucking hospital room, and put another guard under her fucking window." he gasped as someone helped him up. I was put back in the hospital room, and a guard was put under my window. I groaned softly and started pacing, before two men came in, one of them was the doctor, and another looked like a nurse.

"Time for your operation." he said and I cocked my head at his accent.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Very good ear, I am from Germany." he said as he gestured the two guards into my room. "My father was in the original Hydra."

"He must be so proud." I said sarcastically.

"He's dead." he said and I nodded.

"Well, I can honestly say, I hope you never had children. Wouldn't want any more of those crazy genes you've obviously got going on passing on to future generations." I said and smiled. He nodded to the two guards who grabbed me and lifted me onto the stretcher the doc had brought in. I started thrashing and kicking until the doctor injected me with something, making me fall limp. "Fuck." I mumbled.

They wheeled me down hallway after hallway, the entire time I spent swearing out the doctor in his native tongue. When we got to the operating room, I tried to bribe, threaten and plead, a nurse started to cut my skirt off. "Don't fucking cut that, it was on sale!" I shouted when we heard gunshots down the hall.

"Do it fast." the doctor was told.

I could hear the commotion, I wondered what was happening, and then I heard it. The deep rumbling roar of my very pissed off Hulk of a boyfriend. I grinned, I could hear one of the nurses asking what was going on. I took a breath before turning to look at the doors. "_**BRUCE!**_" I screamed as loudly as I could before someone slapped their hand over my mouth. I could hear him moving down the hall, smashing people out of the way before the door was literally ripped off of its hinges.

Doc was trying to stop people as they ran from the room, one nurse stood between me and the Hulk as he came into the room. She was literally shaking as he approached, and looked down at her. She stared up at him in horror before he roared right at her, causing her to faint.


	37. Chapter 37

**_Hey ya'll! We're getting close to the end! I know you hate it when I say that, but it's true! I hope you're still enjoying the story! This is a sort of filler, but it shoes the after effects of something this big. It's also nodding to the huge decision Minnie has to make. _**

**_Disclaimer: I only own Minnie!_ **

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He moved over to the table and reached out for me before pausing. "Honey," I said wearily. "I have never been so happy to see you so pissed off." I smiled and the Hulk smiled lightly. "I can't move." I said softly.

"Minnie... Hurt?" Hulk asked.

"No, they gave me something." I said softly. "I'm just going to need your help."

"Hulk come, help Minnie." he said and I smiled.

"Help me up big guy." I said and the Hulk gently lifted me off the table. I rested my head against the Hulk's chest, no matter what anyone else said, I knew I was safe there. Agent Barton and Natasha came into the hospital room. "He went out the other door." I said looking to the door the doctor had left through.

"Hulk, get her out of here!" Natasha called as people started shooting at us. Hulk covered my face with his arm, he carefully moved through the hallways where soldiers lay groaning and unconscious, some probably even dead, but I didn't worry myself thinking about them, the moment they had crossed my child was the moment I wanted them all dead. Helicopters were landing outside full of SHIELD agents. They managed to coax the Hulk to put me on a stretcher and let someone look at me. I looked up at him with a small smile.

"My hero." I said softly. Hulk grinned before he turned back to the building. "Bruce," I said softly. He looked back at me. "Don't leave me." I pleaded.

The Hulk stared down at me for a moment before he started to change. Someone rushed over with a blanket and a pair of scrubs. Bruce pulled them on quickly before he got into the helicopter next to me. The SHIELD doctor had given me something that was making me able to move again, though every movement felt like pins and needles I didn't care, I hugged him back as he wrapped his arms around me tightly.

The helicopter lifted off with us on it, and took us away from that hell. I knew the rest of the team would be okay. If they could defeat Loki and the aliens, then Hydra should be no problem.

"Are they awake?"

"I'm afraid not Mr. Stark, your assistant had suffered a very traumatic ordeal. She's very lucky she didn't lose the baby, and Dr. Banner is refusing to leave her side."

"Well he's already a more attentive father then my old man." I heard Tony say. I could feel Bruce's arms around me, holding me tightly. It had been a day and a half since the Hydra incident. We were in a SHIELD hospital room in the medical area of their headquarters in New York.

"Hey," I said softly and Bruce opened his eyes. "You okay?"

"Are you?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No," I said softly, and moistened my lips, before I rested my forehead against him collarbone. He rested his chin on top of my head and sighed. "But I will be." I said and lightly kissed his neck. He continued to run his fingers through my hair as I fell back asleep.

In my dreams I was back in that operating room, the doctor had them strap me down, but put my legs into the slings. I tried to thrash, but that drug immobilized me, he was the only one without a surgical mask on, the entire time I could see him grinning as I tried to scream, his hands came into sight, covered in blood.

"Minnie, Minnie, Wake up!" I felt Bruce shake me; I looked up at him, panting and gasping, before I threw my arms around him. "It's okay." I heard him say softly in my ear. I put my hand on my lower stomach and he put his hand over mine. I looked down at our hands, panting before I looked at him.

"I- They- He got the baby." I said and he pushing my hair from my face.

"No he didn't." he said. "It was a nightmare, you're fine. The baby is fine." he said. I rolled over and lay back on the bed. He wrapped his arm around me and we laid there.

"I tried to escape you know." I said softly and he tightened his grip slightly. "I got out the window and I got past a guard and into the forest."

"How'd you get past the guard?"

"I... Kicked him." I said with a shrug. He looked at me and I raised my eyebrows, making him nod. "I convinced a guard in the forest to let me go, but another one showed up and led me at gunpoint back to the building." I paused. "Where was I?"

"Virginia." he said. "In an abandoned mental institution."

"Nice." I muttered sarcastically. He chuckled and I shook my head as I sighed. "We need to talk about it." I said and he frowned.

"Talk about what?"

"The baby." I said softly. "Have you thought about it at all? Do you know what you want?"

"When I found out through the tape the kidnappers sent, I wasn't sure what I did want. But, when I was on the jet, on our way there, the only thing going through my mind was getting you back." He slipped his hand under my shirt and held it against my abdomen. "Getting both of you back." he said softly. "I-" he looked at me and nodded. "I know I don't have much experience with it, but, I want to be a family." he said and I bit my lip, trying to control the tears that were threatening to spill from over my eyes as I threw my arms around him. He hugged me back tightly as I clung to him.

The next day I was eating my breakfast when there was a knock on the door. In walked Agent Coulson who smiled at me lightly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and I smiled lightly.

"Better." I said. "I'm still having nightmares though."

"I can send someone to talk to you." he said and I shook my head.

"No, Bruce has been great." I smiled lightly. "What can I help you with Agent Coulson?"

"I need to debrief you on what happened." he said and I nodded before Bruce walked in.

"Phil." he said and Coulson nodded to him.

"Honey, Agent Coulson is here to debrief me on what happened." I said and he nodded. "Go take your shower. Agent Coulson won't let anything happen to me." He got his clothes and went to the bathroom, I looked at Coulson who cleared his throat.

"Well," he said and looked at me. "Should we get started." he sat down and started to question me about everything I had seen. When we were finished he looked at me curiously as I sat there tracing patterns on my lower stomach. "You're going to keep it aren't you?" he asked and I nodded.

"I am." I said and looked up at Coulson. "Do you think I'm crazy? For keeping the baby I mean?"

"I shouldn't tell you this, but, the doctor you were talking about, he's still out there, and so is the person we believe was in charge."

"You're saying my baby is in danger."

"I'm afraid so Minnie." he said and I sighed deeply.

"So, what do I do?" I asked and he sighed.

"There's no easy answer, you stay in town, you become a constant target, I mean, they're patient, they'll wait for anything." he said and I sighed.

"What do you suggest Phil?" I asked and he smiled lightly as he sat down on the edge of my bed.


	38. Chapter 38

**_Hey ya'll! We're getting close! I want to dedicate this chapter to everyone who's reviewed! All of you! You're the reason I keep updating, your words of encouragement are what keeps me going and makes me happy to update! I hope you enjoy the last few chapters, and I'm still thinking of what to name the sequel. I'll let you know as soon as I know! Enjoy! _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Bruce Banner. I only own the Strong Family._ **

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"Simone," I smiled at my very surprised mother as she opened the door. "I- What are you doing here?"

"Well if you want us to go-" I shrugged as I took Bruce's hand.

"Oh get over here!" she said and I laughed as I hugged her tightly. "Bruce, come down here and give me a hug." she ordered and Bruce leaned over and hugged my mom with a smile.

"Tony had to do some business at Stark Industries LA and dragged us along, so we thought we'd come to visit you."

"How long are you here for?" she asked as we walked into the house with her.

"Just tonight." I said with a small smile.

"And you couldn't call first?" she asked and looked at Bruce. "You let her surprise me like this?"

"Actually it was my idea." he said and she shook her head.

"Your father isn't home yet, make yourselves comfortable, I'll call him."

"Actually I'm going to show Bruce my old room." I said and she nodded.

"Okay Honey." she said as I took his hand and lead him up the stairs.

"I thought she was going to have a heart attack." I said with a small laugh.

"Are we going to tell them?" he asked and I shook my head.

"No. It would only be that much harder." I muttered softly. He nodded and I opened a door, leading to some more stairs. We went up the stairs into my attic bedroom. The entire ceiling was covered in stars, that I knew when it was dark they glowed because of the LED paint I used. The walls were painted a deep blue color with a white trim and my bed was pushed against the far wall. There were bookshelves full of books on every matter, records and a turntable, a small TV, more piles of books, and comic books, and fashion magazines.

"It's very you." he said as he sat down on the bed.

"That's not even the best part." I said as I went to a window that was big enough to fit me, but I knew he'd have to squeeze through. I opened it and slipped out the window, onto a flat part of the roof. He followed a moment later, his shirt riding up slightly as he squeezed through the window legs first. "You okay?" I asked as I pulled his shirt down when he was standing.

"Well, I see why you're good at getting yourself out of tight situations." he said and I smiled. We sat on the flat part of the roof, looking over the land. "You never told me you lived in the country." he said and I shrugged.

"I told you I lived outside of Malibu."

"It's nice out here."

"It's okay." I shrugged. "Not a whole lot to do for fun. Ride the four wheelers, play with the horses, that kind of thing, but aside from that, you really just had to make your own fun."

"How'd you do that?"

"I played paintball, I used to raise hell. MeeMaw and I would pull pranks on people." I shrugged.

"You had horses?" Bruce asked and I smiled.

"Have." I corrected him. I heard mom calling us and I sighed before I moved back to the window. "Come on, I'll show you the horses." I said before I slipped through the window. Bruce followed, squeezing himself through the small window and we went downstairs.

"I called you sisters and your brother and dad is picking up MeeMaw from the home and they're all coming for dinner." Mom said.

"Jeeze mom, I just wanted to stop by and say hi." I said rolling my eyes, but I was smiling, I knew she was going to do all that anyways.

"Well how often do we get to see you?" she asked and I sighed as she fussed for a moment.

"Mom, I'm going to show Bruce the horses."

"Okay, but watch Hermes, he's been a little grumpy these past few weeks."

"I know the feeling." Bruce muttered to me and I laughed as we walked out of the house. We made our way to the ban and I pushed the doors open.

"So, over here is Gypsy," I said as I showed him a black mare who walked over to the gate. I pushed it open and softly stroked her neck as she smelled the front of my shirt, then moved her nose to my face. I laughed and pointed to a refrigerator we kept in the barn. "There should be some carrots in there, will you grab a few?" I asked and he went and got them. I broke one up and held it right under her mouth; she gladly took them and munched on them, before nudging my face with her nose. "Oh-" I said and Bruce looked at me as I pulled away from the horse. "She's blind, she feels that way." I said as I rubbed my chin where she had hit me. "It's happened before and it'll happen again." I sighed as I pushed on her. She backed up into the stall and I closed it.

"You have a blind horse?" he asked and I nodded.

"I heard about her through the grapevine, someone was going to kill her because she was blind and I convinced Dad we needed to take her in. She's a great learning horse; she loves people, and kids especially. We let the kids ride her with someone leading." I said and he nodded. "Over here," I said as I led him to the next stall "Is Hermes, the cranky pants." I said looking into the stall. The Norwegian Fjord was standing there drinking some water. I clicked my tongue a few times and he walked over to the door as I pushed it open. "Come on Hermes." I said and I broke up another carrot for him. He took it (rather quickly) from my hand and backed off into the stall. "Okay, be that way." I said to him as I closed the door.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing, he's just old." I shook my head. I took Bruce's hand and led him across the barn to the other side. "In here," I said as I pushed open the door. "Is Snow White- Abby named her." I clarified as the white Appaloosa walked over to us to investigate. "Do you want to pet her?" He walked over hesitantly and I took his hand and held it up to her nose.

"Their noses are soft." he said and I nodded as he continued to pet her. I let go of his hand and Snow nudged him. I broke up the carrot, the sound of it cracking got her attention and I put it into his hand.

"Hold your hand out flat." I instructed him. He did and Snow seemed to sense he wasn't used to being around horses because she slowly took the carrot from his hand, and nudged him as she was munching on it. She did was Gypsy had done to me and pressed her nose against his chest, sniffing him up to his face. I could see him laughing and I smiled. "She likes you." I said as she moved his glasses slightly by accident.

"I've never been around horses." he admitted and I smiled as I pushed her back.

"I'll be back later Princess." I said as she backed into the stall. I slid the door shut with Bruce's help, and led him to the next stall. "This is my baby." I said as I opened the door.

"That's your horse?" he asked as the tan Clydesdale walked over to us. I smiled up at him, and laughed as he put his nose right against my face.

"How's my boy?" I cooed at him. "How's my baby?" I asked before I hugged the huge horse. "His name is Ox."

"I wonder why." Bruce said as I scratched the large horse. I broke up a carrot and gave it to him.

"I got him when he was a colt- a baby." I clarified for Bruce. "His mom had died in birth and the breeder didn't want to keep him, so I broke dad down and convinced him I needed him." I explained.

"Never got over him either." we both turned around and I grinned as my dad walked over to us. Ox pawed the ground and nudged my back; he never liked it when I gave other people my attention. "Bruce, it's good to see you." Dad said and Bruce smiled, then Dad picked me up and spun me around.

"Dad, stop!" I hit his arm. "Tap out, Tap out!" I groaned. He put me down and I steadied myself against Ox who appreciated the attention. "Ox," I said to the horse. "They're all crazy."

"So, what are you two doing here?"

"Tony had some business to do in town, and he needed me around and Bruce came along, so I decided to visit you guys when we were done." I smiled.

"Well I'm glad you did. Ox, get back in there, you great mangy furball." Dad pushed Ox back into his stall. Ox snorted and whinnied in protest, but backed back into the stall allowing Dad to close the door. "So, Bruce, see why she's so patient?" Dad joked, then without waiting for an answer looked at me. "You realize your mom had invited the troops, right?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, I know." I said and he sighed.

"Good, and good on ya. She's cancelled her book club that was supposed to happen here tonight."

"Good or bad?" I asked and he laughed.

"Trust me kiddo, that's good." he said as he led us back to the house. "I don't know if I could stand another night of Louise Parker bitching about that mutant initiative, or listening to Emma Braxton's divorce proceedings." He rolled his eyes and I laughed.


	39. Chapter 39

_**Alright ya'll, one more to go! I still haven't thought of a name for the sequel yet, but I've started writing it already. It's going to start out pretty slow, but I think you'll like it. **_

_**Disclaimer: I only own Minnie and Dallas, and Minnie's family. Dallas is an emotional wreck.**_

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"Hey MeeMaw." I said when I walked into the living room and found her watching TV.

"Sammy," she said and I leaned down and kissed her. "Where's that handsome young man of yours?"

"He's right here," I said and gestured to Bruce who walked over.

"Hello Mrs. Strong." he said and she hit his hand.

"You call me MeeMaw." she said and then pointed to the area in front of her. "Come down here and give me a hug." she insisted and Bruce knelt down and hugged her. "That's a good boy." she said and then patted his shoulder. "Sammy, he's a strong one."

"Yes he is MeeMaw." I said as Bruce sat on the couch. "What are you watching?" I asked looking at the TV.

"Jersey Shore," MeeMaw said. "I just can't get over that little one with the big hair. In my day, those clothes she wears would be about as much underwear people would wear."

"MeeMaw, even today people wear more underwear than that." I said and MeeMaw laughed.

"So, Bruce, when are you going to marry my granddaughter?" she asked and Bruce smiled lightly before looking at me.

"MeeMaw, jeeze." I said and she rolled her eyes.

"You kids are so sensitive." she sighed. "Honey, go get MeeMaw a drink."

"What do you want MeeMaw?" I asked.

"If you mom doesn't have any Guinness, a Newcastle will do." she said and I nodded.

"Okay, Bruce, beer?" I asked and he nodded.

"Please." he said and I smiled as I went to the kitchen. I got two beers and took a bottle of orange cream soda for myself. I brought the drinks to them and twisted the cap off of my drink and rested into his chest as Bruce wrapped his arm around me.

"Auntie Sammy!" I heard a voice shout. I laughed and pulled out of Bruce's embrace as Mandie and Frankie came running in.

"Hi you guys!" I said as I hugged them. "Oh my god, look at how big you've gotten!" I laughed.

"Hi Bruce!" Mandie said as she stood on the couch and hugged him.

"Hey Mandie." he laughed and she let go of him.

"Frankie made a signing name for you." she informed him.

"A... Signing name?"

"Yeah, it's a name you use when you're signing." she said and then signed to Frankie who did the sign. I covered my mouth with a small smile and Bruce looked at me.

"It's uncle with a B." I said softly. He smiled lightly and nodded to Frankie.

"Thank you." he did she sign I had shown him. Frankie grinned and then started signing at a million miles an hour to MeeMaw who laughed at what he was saying.

"Hey Sammy." Sonny walked in. I jumped up and hugged him tightly; he hugged me back as his kids walked in. Pretty soon the entire family was there. I was in the kitchen with Mom, Abby, Tabby and Claire.

"Sammy, honey, get the plates." My mom said. I did as I was told and she set up a buffet style dinner.

After dinner all the kids were off doing something in the rec room in the basement while the adults talked and laughed.

"So, there Sammy is, covered in mud, her boyfriend staring at her in horror, and she goes "if your parents can't handle me looking like this, then they can't handle me all cleaned up"." my mom said to Bruce who was looked over at me.

"In my defense," I said and he raised his eyebrows. "He couldn't handle me at all." I shrugged and Sonny laughed.

"Like any guy could!" he said and hit Bruce's arm. "You're a saint man."

"Screw you Sonny." I scoffed.

"Now, admittedly, Sammy has calmed down over the years." Abby said holding her hand up.

"Come off it, she's just waiting for the perfect opportunity." Rick winked at me.

"If she's smart, she's always plotting." MeeMaw said and I shook my head.

"You guys trying to scare Bruce off?"

"No, we just don't want him to freak out if you two move in together and he finds out what you're really like!"

"Well you're a little late for that; we've been living together for two months now." I said and mom threw her hands up.

"Why are we always the last ones to know Sam?" she asked and I laughed.

"Because I knew you'd make a big deal out of it!" I said and she sighed. "It's not a big deal, we live together, and adults do that sometimes." I nodded and she sighed.

"Bruce, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Would it help if we were engaged?" he asked and everyone looked at him.

"Are you engaged?" Tabby asked and Bruce shook his head.

"Bruce..." I said hesitantly as he stood up and walked over to my side of the table. He knelt down on front of me and my mom took my hand tightly.

"I know you're close with your family, so I wanted to wait until I had their support, so, Simone "Minnie" Diana Strong, will you marry me?" he asked and I covered my mouth as he held up a ring.

"Yes." I finally said and he smiled as he slipped the ring onto my finger. I let out a small laugh, and then threw my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around my middle as I kissed him, "I hope you brought your EpiPen with you." I whispered and he laughed.

* * *

When we got back to New York I called Dallas while Bruce was at Stark Tower, clearing some things up. "I know I read about them in History class, but the fact that they're still around, that's pretty fucked up." Dallas was saying as he helped me folding some clothes.

"I know right." I muttered.

"So, when will you be back?" he asked and I sighed.

"I dunno Dallas." I said as tears filled my eyes.

"God damnit woman." he scowled.

"Dallas, if there was any other way, I swear I would do it, you know that."

"I know." he sighed. "I just- I don't want you to go." his voice cracked and I wrapped my arms around him and we cried. Bruce walked in and paused when he saw us, and then sighed.

"I'll order some Greek." he said and I shook my head.

"We already ordered Chinese." I said and he nodded. When Dallas and I had calmed down a little we finished folding clothes and I looked at the dress hung up against the back of the door. "It is beautiful isn't it?" I asked and Dallas smiled lightly.

"It's the prettiest wedding dress I've ever seen." he said as he wrapped his arms around me. Dallas ended sleeping over that night, I climbed out of bed and crawled into the couch bed with Dallas halfway through the night and spend the rest of the night there with him. When I woke up it was to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Dallas had wrapped his arm around me in his sleep like Bruce often did, so I had to do my usual shimmy out from under his arm, before I got up and opened the door to see Phil Coulson standing there.

"Come on in." I mumbled.

"I brought you some coffee." he said, and handed me a drink. "Black and white mocha."

"Thanks Phil." I said as I lightly kissed his cheek. He blushed lightly and I patted his hand. "Let me go get Bruce up." I went to the bedroom where Bruce was dressing. "Morning honey."

"Good morning." he said.

"So, he's going to meet us at the SHIELD headquarters." I said and he nodded.

"Not exactly the wedding I know you wanted." he said and I shook my head.

"No, honey, it's prefect. Our friends will be there." I said and touched his hand. "It'll be wonderful."

"Minnie, I- I want you to know-"

"Wait." I said. "Before you say anything, I want you to know, I wouldn't change anything. Not for the world. Because I love you, and you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and sure, this whole leaving everyone behind, that isn't ideal, but as long as we're together, the three of us," I put his hand on my lower stomach. The SHIELD doctor had told me I was almost through my first trimester, and that everything looked okay so far. I would know more when we got further down the line. "So long as we're together, everything will be fine." I said and he smiled before he wrapped his arms around me.

"Guys," I heard Phil call from the living room. I pulled away and pulled my dress bag down.

"Sorry Phil." I said as I walked into the living room.

"Don't worry about your bags, SHIELD will get it during the ceremony." he said. "There's a car downstairs waiting for you."

"Thanks." I said to him and he nodded. Dallas got up and got changed quickly before he grabbed his bags of styling products and the three of us went downstairs while Phil organized getting things done at our apartment.

When we got to SHIELD headquarters I was lead into a room where Dallas went to work. As he was curling my hair the door opened and Pepper walked in. "You look so beautiful." she sighed.

"Pep, don't start crying, because then I'll start crying." I said as she sniffled.

"I'm going to miss you so much." she said and I nodded.

"I'll miss you too." I said and she sat down next to me. I took her hand and Dallas let out a small wail.

"It's not fair." he cried and I sighed.

"Just hope that they get the psychopaths from Hydra, if they get them, we can come back." I sighed and he nodded his head.

"I know." he said and then wiped his face off. He finished with my hair and makeup, my dress was a vintage ivory wedding dress, so he had done bronze eye makeup and a beautiful light lipstick, it was very natural looking. My hair was done loose in large, loose curls, he only pinned it away from my face and sighed as he put a pair of earrings in my ears. "It's my best look yet." he sighed.

"You look great." Pepper assured me as I fretted over myself in the mirror.

"Minnie," Steve stuck his head in the room and I looked back at him. "You look beautiful." he said and I smiled. "Are you ready?" he asked and I nodded. I followed him out of the room, Dallas and Pepper following after me. I paused at Phil who smiled at me.

"Thank you for everything." I said softly to him and he nodded before I went to Bruce, and stood with him in front of the justice of the peace.


	40. Chapter 40

_**Okay ya'll! This is the last chapter. It's a long one, and I hope you like the way I've wrapped things up. The sequel I've decided is going to be called Ever Present Past. I think it's fitting because when we come in it'll be chapters of Bruce and Minnie's lives outside of the Avengers, but there will always be their past lurking in the shadows. Well, it's been fun, and I want to say thank you to everyone who had written me both, reviewing and private messaging, I couldn't have done all of this without you! Please keep an eye out for Ever Present Past. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, SHIELD or anything you recognize. I own Minnie, her crazy friends and family and her crazy life.** _

* * *

After we were married I went over to Tony who was standing there with his arms crossed.

"You ever think it would come to this?" I asked and he shrugged.

"I don't know, I should be pissed at Bruce." he said and I raised an eyebrow. "I've got to interview new assistants. I hate interviewing people." he said and I laughed.

"Don't blame Bruce for that one, blame Hydra."

"So when we catch the bastards, you'll come back right?" he asked and I nodded.

"In a heartbeat." I said.

"Good, we'll get right on that." he said. I smiled lightly before I hugged him. "Oh come on, I know I'm hard to resist, but you're married now. You'll have to control yourself somehow." he said and I hit his arm. "I'll miss you too kiddo." he said softly in my ear.

"See you in a few weeks?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course." he said softly.

"Minnie," Thor walked over and I smiled at him. "Your union was one of legends." he said.

"Thank you Thor." I said with a smile.

"I vow to bring those that tried to harm your child to justice so you might return to your home and family. I know the price one pays to be exiled."

"I'm going under the radar Thor, I'm not exiled." I explained.

"Minnie," I turned and smiled at Steve Rogers.

"Excuse me guys." I said to Thor and Tony as I walked over to Steve.

"I'm sorry it's coming to this." he said softly.

"It's just something we'll have to overcome." I said softly. "I'm just sorry I won't be able to write you." I said and he nodded.

"Bruce is a good man." he said as we looked at Bruce who was trying to calm down Dallas who was clinging to him and sobbing. Bruce looked at me and I smiled.

"I should go save him." I said and then turned back to him. "I'll miss you Steve." I said as I hugged him. He hugged be back and I placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Just take things slowly. It'll come to you." I said softly and he nodded before I walked over to Bruce. "Dallas, calm down. We'll only be gone for a few weeks at the most." I shrugged. "Just think about it like our honeymoon."

"Okay." he sniffled. I went over to Natasha and smiled at her.

"Minnie, I'm sorry I let you get caught."

"Neither of us knew what was going to happen." I said to her. "It's not your fault Nat." I said softly and she smiled lightly. "I wish I could have gotten to know you better while you were here."

"So do I." she said.

"When we get back, we'll have to work on that huh?" I asked and she smiled.

"You bet." she said and I hugged her before I spoke to Clint. He said basically the same as Natasha and promised to catch the bastards before I caught sight of Nick Fury. I walked over to him and he looked down at me.

"I hate to break up your big moment," he said and I nodded. "But we're ready to brief you."

"Can I say goodbye?" I asked and he nodded. I quickly said goodbye to everyone, Tony and Dallas were the hardest to leave, Tony shoved a manila envelope into my hands and made me promise not to read it until they took me wherever they took me, and Dallas clung to me and sobbed for a good minute before Steve walked over and took one for the team and let Dallas sob into his shirt.

"These are your new passports, birth certificates, ID's." Nick said as he handed them to be and Bruce. "We're setting you up in a SHIELD safe house in Maine." he said and I looked at the ID.

"Emily Roberts," I said as I ran my thumb over my picture.

"Bruce Roberts." Bruce muttered.

"Why do you get to keep your first name?" I asked jokingly.

"Bruce is a common name, Simone, not so much." Phil said and I nodded. "We've got a SHIELD doctor who will do your checkups and be there when you deliver, we will meet with you every few weeks to go over the progress on everything, and to make sure you're adjusting alright."

"What's the back story?" I asked and Phil looked at Fury who nodded.

"As we speak the NYPD is finding your bodies in your burning apartment. A gas line broke and when you turned on your hairdryer, it shorted, sparked and the entire place went up in flames." he said and I nodded as I turned my eyes downcast. Bruce took my hand and I smiled at him.

"There's a car waiting downstairs that'll take you to the airport, you'll fly to Maine, and you'll be driven to Nadine, Maine." Fury said.

"You have five minutes to go change." Coulson said. "And then you'll go."

Bruce squeezed my hand lightly as we were led to the room to change. "Have you ever heard of Nadine?" I asked.

"No," he said softly. "You okay?"

"I'm just saying good bye to everyone and everything I've ever known." I said softly and he wrapped an arm around me.

"It's not easy," he said softly. "But it gets easier, and I'll be right there with you." I kissed him lightly and we both changed. When we finished changing we went back out to where Phil was waiting for us. He handed us a small bag to put our clothes into.

"Are you ready?" Phil asked.

"No." I said and sighed. "But it's time." Phil nodded and led us downstairs, before I stopped in front of Director Fury. I hugged him quickly and he tensed up before he lightly put his arm around me. "Thank you for everything Director Fury." I said.

"You don't need to thank us." he said. "It's what we do." I pulled away from him and smiled. He gave me a small smile and I took Bruce's hand and followed Phil downstairs.

"This is where I leave you." Phil said as we got to the car.

"Phil, thank you." Bruce said as he shook Phil's hand.

"Dr. Banner, I look forward to working with you in the future." Phil said, and then looked at me as Bruce slid into the car. "Minnie, it's been interesting knowing you. I don't think anyone can handle Tony Stark quite like you can."

"Well, I feel bad for the next girl is all." I shrugged with a small smile.

"Lord knows it'll be impossible to get him on the phone again." he sighed and I laughed.

"Well, you take care Phil. I hope your cellist knows how lucky she is." Phil made a face and I raised my eyebrows. "No cellist?"

"No, uh, there is a barista though. She's a painter too."

"Well, go for it." I said and he laughed.

"We'll be in touch Minnie." he said and I nodded before I shook his hand and got into the car.

The drive to the airport was fast, the ride to Maine was even faster, and the ride from the airport to Nadine went by in a flash.

Nadine, Maine was a small town. It was like any sort of nameless small town you see in movies and TV shows, where everyone knows everyone, and no one takes too kindly to strangers. We got to the house and I chuckled lightly seeing a moving van with movers bringing stuff into the house.

"Jesus H. Christ." I muttered as we got out of the car. Bruce looked at me and I crossed my arms. "Fury put us up in the suburbs. I swear to god, this is revenge for that time I locked him in Tony's kitchen, when I didn't want him to go wandering off and looking for you, do you remember that?" I asked and he nodded.

"I remember that." he said. "Why didn't you want him to go looking for me?" he asked as the driver left. "You didn't know about the other guy yet. You just didn't want Fury to go looking for me?"

"Mm... No, I don't know." I shrugged. "I think I just knew that you didn't need to be dragged back into all that SHIELD nonsense right away. Like, you needed some time to relax, and get settled a little before they started harassing you. Tony always needed a few days before he was back to his definition of normal." I shrugged and he smiled before he pulled me close and kissed me.

"Hey, Mrs. Roberts," one of the movers called and I looked over.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You want us to help put the furniture together, like the master bed and everything?" he asked. BRBRBR "That would be great." I nodded. "Thank you."

"Hi there!" I heard someone call and I looked over as a slim black haired woman with high cheekbones walked over. "I'm Erin Stone, you bust be the Roberts." she said as she walked over to us.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." I said putting on my best publicity smile; I had learned it when working for Tony. "I'm Emily, this is my husband Bruce."

"Hi." she smiled to him. "Honey, come say hi!" she said and a man with sandy blonde hair and a round face walked over. "This is my husband Aaron. I know, Erin and Aaron, at least you won't forget our names." she said and I chuckled lightly.

"Nice to meet you." Aaron said as he shook Bruce's hand.

"You too." Bruce nodded.

"Gosh, we're so happy someone moved in here, that house has been sitting there for months, it's like no one even tried to sell it." Erin sighed as she put her hands on her hips.

"Uh, scuze me, Mrs. Roberts!" one of the movers called and I looked over.

"Coming!" I called. "I'm sorry; I'd better go help out."

"Oh, no, of course!" she said. "I'm sure we'll see more of each other real soon!" she said. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." I said and Bruce and I walked over to the mover.

"Agent Coulson requested you don't get too close with anyone until you've had time to read your packets." he said and handed us both a folder. I laughed lightly and Bruce shook his head.

"Thank you." I sighed to the mover who nodded, and then started shouting orders to people again.

"Well, let's go check it out." he said. We walked to the front door and he surprised me by sweeping me into his arms. I yelped as I grabbed his shoulders and held on, he let me down and kissed me lightly and I smiled through the kiss. "Welcome home, Mrs. Banner." he said softly.

"According to the government, it's Mrs. Roberts." I said and he scoffed.

"I prefer Mrs. Banner." he whispered and I smiled as I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

"Me Too." I said gently.

That night after the movers had left and I had ordered a pizza from the only pizza delivery place in town, Bruce was looking over his packet, when I remembered the envelope Tony had given me. I found it and opened it, finding an external hard drive. A post it note was stuck to it with instructions. I frowned and found the security system in the house, and popped off the faceplate before I found a small jack I would be able to attack a cable to. I plugged the external hard drive into my computer and ran a line from my computer to the security system. About an hour later I was reading through my file when a voice I recognized filled the house.

"Good evening Mrs. Banner, is there anything I could do to assist you?"

"Jarvis?" I asked in shock.

"Mr. Stark recognizes he wasn't able to get you a real wedding gift in such short time and he knew that once SHIELD had you in their hands contact would be next to impossible, so he trusted you to do the right thing." he said. "Keep in mind, I'm paraphrasing."

"With Tony it's usually best." I said with a small laugh.

"There is a message from him I've been ordered to replay." he said.

"_Minnie, Bruce," Tony's voice filled the room. "I know it'll be awhile before I see either of you again, I'm not going to bullshit you, SHIELD has no idea where to look for those Hydra bastards and neither do we. However, if you can get the house running on a centralized computer, which Jarvis will walk you through doing, it's possible for us to keep in touch. Jarvis is now running on your laptop Minnie, because you have a new SHIELD hard drive, it will be hard for us to keep in touch, but with Jarvis, it'll be under the radar. Congratulations, and Bruce, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Remember, it's fifty percent her DNA too, so, you've got that going for you, though you had better pray for a boy because the last thing we need is a mini Minnie._" he said and I chuckled softly.

"Smart ass." I muttered.

"_I know I'm a smart ass," _Tony said and I looked at Bruce who smiled_. "But what would you do without me? For the meantime, leave your computer plugged into the wall until you can figure out the centralized computer." he ordered. "And take care. Oh, and Minnie? When I see you, I'm going to kill you for making me interview these new applicants, I think everyone in Stark Industries is applying_." he sighed and I laughed.

"Oh please, Pepper's doing all the interviews."

"_If Pepper has to interview one more person, it's going to drive her nuts!" _he continued and I laughed again as Bruce wrapped his arm around me._ "So, until next time, take care you too. And Bruce, try not to turn into a green rage machine. I'm assuming it's the suburbs. Knowing Fury, he's probably getting revenge for Minnie locking him in the kitchen." _I laughed._ "And don't forget, name it after me_." he was grinning, I could hear it in his voice, then the recording ended.

"So, Mrs. Banner, what alias will you be using here?"

"Emily Roberts."

"And Mr. Banner?"

"Oh, he's lucky; he got to keep his last name." I said as I looked at my laptop. "Bruce Roberts."

"Very good. I do hope you're pleased with Mr. Stark."

"Of course I'm pleased Jarvis," I said with a small laugh. "I don't know how I would have survived without you." I felt Bruce lightly kiss my neck and I breathed in sharply.

"Mrs. _Roberts_, you're too kind." Jarvis said and I laughed.

"Jarvis, when no one is around, you can call me Mrs. Banner." I said.

"Oh, thank you." he said sounding relieved.

"Jarvis, I'm going to shut you down for the night. We'll look into getting that computer system run through the house as soon as possible." I said.

"Very well. Good night Mr. and Mrs. Banner."

"Good night Jarvis." we both said before I stood up, and Bruce and I went to the bedroom.

days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. In that time we rewired the house, putting in the central computer the way Jarvis instructed, and soon he was over the entire house, just like at Tony's. We painted, and made a room for the baby, though Bruce banned me from the room when the paint was wet, saying the fumes weren't good for the baby. Bruce started work as a chemistry teacher at the High school when the winter break was over, and I was a stay at home wife for the time being, though I didn't expect that to last long.

One day in mid August as Bruce and I were washing the cars my water broke. I was rushed to the hospital and with my SHIELD doctor I gave birth to a six pound, seven ounce, seventeen inch long baby girl. We named her Makayla Antonia Banner (According to her SHIELD issued birth certificate it was Makayla Antonia Roberts, but we knew the truth). I remember the doctor putting her into my arms, my sweat covered face made my hair stick to it, they got me cleaned up, and then let Bruce into the room. I was cooing at the small, pink baby when the door opened. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and I smiled at him, before adjusting the little baby.

"See Kayla?" I asked softly. "That's your Daddy." I looked at Bruce who took a small step closer. "Come see her Daddy." I said softly. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and I gently placed her into his arms.

"She-" his voice cracked. "She's so small." he said and I smiled as I looked at him holding her. He looked terrified which made me smile. I leaned forward and lightly kissed his hand. He looked at me and smiled making me do the same. He pushed the hair from my face and cupped my face before he kissed me longly.

"Take that Hydra." I said as I lightly tapped Makayla's nose with the tip of my finger. Bruce laughed and handed her back to me. He wrapped his arm around me and I looked up at him. "You ever wanted a family Bruce?" I asked and he looked down at me.

"I wanted one the minute I saw you." he said softly and I smiled, and then looked down at Makayla.

"Your Daddy is cheesy," I said down to her making him laugh next to me. "But he's romantic. I think we'll keep him." I looked at him and he kissed the top of my head before he lightly ran his finger over Makayla's hand.

"You know Jarvis is going to lose his programming." he said and I laughed. "You weren't due for another week, and he's got everything planned out."

"Sometimes I wonder about that program." I sighed and he looked at me.

"Well he was programmed by Tony Stark." he said and I laughed.

"Do you think she'll ever get to meet them?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course." he said softly. "Hydra can't hide forever. And when they come out, the Avengers will be there." he said.

* * *

Nick Fury was standing in front of a row of screen showing the faces of the US Summit. "What is your stand on finding the members of Hydra?"

"So far, we've been unable to locate them, however we believe the leader of Hydra is a young woman calling herself Madame Hydra. Not much is known about her, but we believe an agent of ours has a past with her, we've sent her undercover to find out what she can, and hopefully get close enough to figure out where they are." he explained.

"They're after the Hulk, is using him as bait not working?"

"Dr. Banner is not currently working with us at this time." Fury said after a moment. "Seeing as it was his family who were threatened, and almost killed last time we felt it would be best to give him a leave of absence for awhile."

"Well when will he be back?" a woman asked and Fury looked at a monitor that showed a video of a young girl of around one and a half or two with bright red curly hair and dark brown eyes running around in a yard. Minnie and Bruce were running around with her, the small girl laughed as she fell on her butt and Bruce scooped her up into his arms as a small dog barked and jumped around with them.

"Director Fury? When will the Hulk be ready to fight again?"

"I'd say in about eighteen years." Fury said before he hit a switch, disconnecting the call with the Summit. He looked back at the screen, Minnie stood on her tip toes and kissed Bruce's chin making him smile and cup her face, kissing her deeply as little Makayla ran at the dog who barked happily and jumped around.

He smiled lightly before he walked over and turned the monitor off, then walked out of the darkened room. They were happy, and he wasn't going to interrupt their lives right now with nothing to say except that there was nothing to say.

Hydra would be found, and in the meantime, there was the matter of a certain millionaire and his usual shenanigans he had to attend to. After all, a SHIELD agent's work was never done.


End file.
